POP VULTURE By Phil Rainone

Achtung Baby! KMFDM Will Rock Your World!

2009-03-25T18:50:00.000-07:00

KMFDM- Blitz (KMFDM.com)

KMFDM started out in Hamburg, Germany in 1986 making soundtracks for friends' performance art in Paris, and their music has maintained a certain European vibe (Kraftwerk, Raminstein, etc.) ever since.

Often tagged as an industrial dance band, KMFDM (whose acronym is most frequently explained as Kein Mitleid Fur Die Mehrheit , which translates as “No pity for the majority” - or as legend has it, “Kill Mother Fucking Depeche Mode”) do indeed produce a dark, throbbing post-modern noise. They also toy with heavy metal, disco, hip-hop, and a wide variety of samplings- often within the same song.

Once you get past the industrial dance beats after a few listens, you’ll find KMFDM’s political awareness and fondness for found sound in songs like “People of the Lie,” and “Me & My Gun,” is still intact as they brutally blitz Krieg through these new favorites.

Verging on dub as much as on hard rock, and the afore mentioned genres, the synthesizers and guitars are pushed right up front, adding electronic accents, occasional vocals, and embracing them all with excellent effect. Elsewhere, the group either rocks out like metal maniacs, or just hammer home an intense dance beat with inspiration. “People of the Lie” adds female vocals to a time warped disco beat. Like Nine Inch Nails’ monster hit “Head Like a Hole,” “Being Boiled’s” rhythm section digs in for the duration of the song spewing out some of the nastiest, catchiest, aggressively brain-draining beat since KMFDM’s German counterpart, Nitzer Ebb.

“Blitz” is one of KMFDM’s most accomplished records to date. It benefits from the band’s overheated attention to the full sound of the music, and strict attention to the beat!

Great Vibrations!

2009-02-12T18:57:00.000-08:00

Brian Wilson - That Lucky Old Sun DVD (Capitol)

The first part of the DVD for That Lucky Old Sun is an in studio performance in Studio A, at the Capitol Records building in California, where many classic Beach Boys songs were created. Brian and his band play all of their new album to a small, but appreciative audience. They recreate the entire album without any extra songs, or Brian or anyone frim the band talking to the crowd. Just a straight, live performance piece.

My thoughts after seeing about two minutes of the first song “That Lucky Old Sun” was that this was going to be a cut and dried show with very little emotion. Then the band, including a six piece string section, breaks into a mid-tempo boogie-woogie vibe, with Brian becoming animated, and the band locking in together, with everyone smiling ear to ear! You get the feeling that the past and present of Brian’s music has just evolved, and has enveloped everyone within listening distance, and brought us to a higher plane.

“Forever My Surfer Girl” features spot-on Beach Boys-like harmonies. Like most of the songs' harmonies (they’ve added a female backup singer, Taylor Mills, who helps brighten the songs through the set), the band helps open the door to Brian’s new music with an eye toward the legacy of his past.

“Venice Beach” and “Live Let Live/That Lucky Old Sun” (reprise)” are basic, simple snapshots of California today, put to beautiful music. They’re reminiscent of the Beach Boys’ “California Saga,” from their late 70’s Holland album. It’s like Buddy Holly said: “Look around you and write about what inspires you, that’s how you compose.” These are beautiful songs colored with pictorial soundscapes.

The music takes a new direction with “Mexican Girl,” “Cinco De Mayo,” and California Role,” which all feature a taste of The Grateful Dead’s “Mexicali Blues”-vibe. The band’s added gusto gives you the feeling that this is the next best thing to being there!

Some of the songs are punctuated with short cartoons, or photo stills from the 60’s featuring Brian, The Beach Boys, and The California scene, all of which are highlighted with hot rods and surfing shorts.

“Oxygen to the Brain,” and “Going Home” are brighter and bouncier than the studio versions, if that’s possible. This is a band that rises to the occasion every time they're challenged, either by Brian (“The Making of the Album” documentary is eye-opening) or an audience that’s pretty much expecting a nostalgic Beach Boys set. Amazingly, they not only deliver the goods in the “Bonus Material,” but they also bring Brian’s music into the here and now, vibing off each other with a mix of nostalgia and originality.

Back in the 60’s Brian Wilson gave instrumental surf rock a voice. He took Dick Dale & The Ventures’ mojo, and added romance (“Surfer Girl”), excitement (“Fun, Fun, Fun”), and love and loss (“In My Room”). He made the whole experience accessible to every one, and epically this New Jersey guy, and most of my friends.

On the documentary he uses his current band like he did the Wrecking Crew, which back in the 60’s included ace studio musicians like Glen Campbell, and Hal Blaine on drums. Part of Brian's creative process is examined by his current band in interviews, who say that Brian hears the complete song in his head, then he explains it to them, and then they have to play their parts with reverence and originality. They don’t use ProTools, it’s just Brian, the band, and a few microphones. At one point you hear Brian say to the backup singers to: “I want to hear your soul!”

Contemporaries from the 60’s like Mickey Dolenz from The Monkees give in-person testimonials about Brian and The Beach Boys, and Tony Asher, who co-wrote most of the songs with Brian on Pet Sounds, gives an incisive fly-on-the-wall overview of Brian and The Beach Boys’ creative process.

The DVD also includes track by track commentary by Brian and Scott Bennett, who is one of the guitarists from the band. There’s also performances from live sets that show the bands strengths on past and present songs. “The Black Cab Sessions,” is a web performance that will knock your socks off!

Just about everyone knows of the stories of Brian’s drug use in the 60’s, his demise and fall, and his recent amazing resurgence in the past few years. With all that said, we really don’t need to know too much about what Brian Wilson thinks, we just need to feel and listen to what inspires him. - Phil Rainone

Guilty Pleasures For A New Generation

2008-12-26T17:34:00.000-08:00

Guilt by Association Vol. 2 - Various Artists (Engine Room Recordings.com)

I’m usually one of the first to jump on the bandwagon when it comes to guilty pleasures. To me, there’s more pleasure then guilt, especially when it comes to music. I’ve found a lot of guilty pleasures while rummaging through garage sales and such for vinyl records. One of my first “treasures” was a Neil Diamond album with a cover of The Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows,” an amazingly quiet acoustic cover. I also love stuff like The Archie’s, Chipmunk Punk, and the holy grail of guilty pleasures, The Royal Guardsmen’s trilogy of “Snoop Vs. The Red Baron!”

But I digress: The guilty pleasures on “Guilt by Association” are cool-as-a-cucumber cool! Fourteen indie bands that sometime or another crossed paths with mostly 80’s & 90’s Top 40 staples like “Tainted Love,” which is revamped here by My Brightest Diamond with less drama, and from a female’s point of view. The electronic dance beat that they dose it with is more subliminal than Soft Cell’s original, but still dancey! Toto’s “Africa” is given a much needed face-lift; hell, the original actually needed to be put in a body bag an thrown in the river! But Lowry does a nice job of fleshing out the words and adding an mid-tempo beat. The Forms cleverly synthesize and slow down Billy Joel’s historic epic, “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” The majority of the covers are bona fide hits in their own right, but there are a few misses, including Cassettes Won’t Listen’s drab cover of INXS’ “Need You Tonight.” It lacks the snap, crackle, and pop of the original. The lone song from 2008 (from the 00’s? what are they gonna call this decade anyway?) Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl,” turns the tables as Max Vernon’s piano-fied version provides a guy’s eye view: “I kissed a girl just to try it/ Hope my boyfriend don’t mind it…” Hey Katy, I sorry for all those mean things I said about you. You go girl! - Phil Rainone

Don't Forget The Hungry During The Holidays

2008-12-14T13:06:00.000-08:00

100 bloggers throughout New Jersey are uniting to help bring you a message: The New Jersey Food Bank needs your help. More and more people can't afford to feed their families. No one in this country should go to bed hungry, especially children. Click on this poster for more information and then use the coupon below to make a donation and help feed NJ's hungry.

Punk Rock Karaoke - Birth of a New Religion?

2008-12-08T17:38:00.000-08:00

Punk Rock Karaoke - DVD/CD (mvdvisual.com)

By Phil Rainone

“Music is a religion, Karaoke is a cult.”- Little Steven

I’ve used that quote a few times over the last couple of years, sharing Steven’s love of music and utter distain for that lounge lizard, Neanderthalic, knuckle -dragging, watered-down muzak they try to pass off as music in karaoke bars. Phew! That was a mouthful! But it’s all true! I’ve asked everyone from The Boss (Mr. Testa) on down to my friends Gary, Diane, and just about everyone I know at some point, if they’ve ever done Karaoke.- They’re answers were all pretty much the same: “Only when I was drunk!”

Well, after listening to Punk Rock Karaoke, I have a newfound respect! What this DVD does is take everything bad about Karaoke and replace it with a real deal live band, consisting of some very cool punk rock musicians, including Eric Melvin on guitar (NOFX), Greg Hetson on guitar (Bad Religion/ Circle Jerks), Steve Soto on bass and backing vocals (Adolescents/ Agent Orange/22 Jacks), and Derek O’Brian on drums and backing vocals (Social Distortion/ Agent Orange/ Adolescents). This scenario was tried with other musicians on the first few years of the Warped Tour. There, they used musicians from the bands that were on break as a backing band, and had the fans come up an sing to some of their favorite punk rock tunes.

What makes this DVD/CD even better is how, in the extra features, the band mentions how psyched everyone gets playing because they get to be Black Flag (“Gimmie, Gimmie, Gimmie”), or The Buzzcocks (“What Do I Get”), or The Dead Kennedy’s (“California Uber Alles”- which is one of my son Steve’s and my faves, played over and over on many a road trip.) With 10 songs in all (they should make a whole DVD with more Karaoke punk rock tunes), the first disc here includes both the instrumental and vocal versions of the songs. But wait, there’s more! They also include a second CD with the same ten songs as the DVD but with special guests doing the vocals. For example, you’d have the ace Karaoke backing band with Dickie from The Mighty Mighty Bosstones covering Stiff Little Fingers’ “Suspect Device,” or Dave King from Flogging Molly doing an amazing version of Bad Religion’s “Fuck Armageddon… This is Hell.”

And they just don’t put the words up on a blank screen like in some bar. Behind the words, they’ve projected either homemade videos or 50’s black & white B-movie clips, or wild WWII footage, which could be a little distracting, but very cool all the same. They cover all the bases, and then some, with on-the-money punk rock karaoke selections, a who’s who of musicians, and an extra CD sung by some of the best voices in punk rock.

During the interview (“Meet the Band” in the extras), they mention that they’ve been doing this since New Years of ’96 ( I hope this will inspire a gazillion punk rock Karaoke bands to spring up), and they still sound energized doing it! They talk tongue-in-cheek about how “We play and you’re the star, in three minutes,” and about the kids getting up on stage with some of their favorite musicians.

Besides footage of the band, you see the singers and the crowd get into it, moshing, and crowd surfing, as the singers, both male and female, storm the stage, working off the crowd, and the crowd getting enveloped in the musical mojo being created on the stage.

So you’re probably wondering if I tried it?! Well, like I always say, “They pay me not to sing… or dance!”
But, yeah I’m writing this up at work - not a soul around, except Otto (the seagull). So I put on “California Uber Alles,” grabbed a wrench for a microphone, and tried to copy Jello Barfia’s shrill vocals, leaping and hoppin around the room, doin’ the electric boogaloo! I’m such a pathetic sight, but I’m enjoyin’ the hell out of it!!

Dang! If they keep it, up they could turn this punk rock karaoke thing into a religion!

Bringin' The Mojo

2008-11-18T16:21:00.000-08:00

Mavis Staples- Live: Hope at the Hideout (Anti-)

Without any intro or fanfare, the band - including Mavis Staples on vocals, Rick Holmstrom on guitar, Jeff Turmes on bass, Stephen Hodges on drums, and background singers Yvonne Staples, Donny Gerrard, and Chavonne Morris - take the stage, adding a soulful strut to Buffalo Springfield’s “For What it’s Worth.” After a that Mavis Staples takes the mic to say that, “We’ve come tonight to bring you some joy, some happiness, inspiration, and some positive vibrations!”

With that said, the mojo gets deep, funky, and fun. “Wade in the Water” from Mavis’ current studio album, was brought to a higher plane as the band jammed for six minutes plus, with Mavis roaring at times like a late train that’s trying to catch up with Curtis Mayfield’s train that left the station on time from “People Get Ready.” Both songs being about redemption and damnation. The background singers sweetly countered some of Mavis’ gutsiest vocals.

“This Little Light of Mine” which is usually given a traditionally spiritual reading, on “Live: Hope at the Hideout,” in Chicago, Mavis and the band conjure up a emotionally charged, but slow, smoldering cadence. The effect- it bristles with energy heightened by Mavis’ free flowing guttural growl that’s positively enlightening. It’s a stark change from Springsteen’s version who, on the “Live in Dublin” album, with The Seeger Sessions band, turned it into a righteous rockier, seating right it in the front pew.

Even the more slow, introspective numbers like “Waiting for My Child,” or “Why Am I Treated so Bad,” are attention-getting spirituals that focus on Mavis’ and the band’s interplay. It’s like sharing a secret between the audience and the artist. The band is viding off the audience, as they audience vibes off the band, creating an equally upward, musical spiral taking the songs to another place and time. Packing both equal parts intellectual, and emotional feeling into an organic thing, with both songs catching fire.

Hearing “We Shall Not be Moved” just two days after the presidential elections, and Mavis’ first-hand experience about racial discrimination, is both inspiring and shameful. We still have a long way to go but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

With many exciting peaks and valleys the show was kicked up a couple of notches by the encores of the traditionally upbeat spiritual, “Will the Circle be Unbroken,” “On My Way,” with it’s slow blues break, and The Staple Singers original, “I’ll Take You There.” The latter song ended the night, and was a standout. Led my Mavis Staples’ and underpinned only by Rick Holston’s subliminal guitar licks, they never approach the originals flaring, horn-fired R&B groove, but they did get the point across: Joy, Happiness, Inspiration, and Positive Vibrations!- Phil Rainone

Mavis Staples Brings It All Back Home

2008-11-11T15:07:00.001-08:00

Mavis Staples- Live: Hope at the Hideout (Anti-)

Without any intro or fanfare the band, including Mavis Staples on vocals, Rick Holmstrom on guitar, Jeff Turmes on bass, Stephen Hodges on drums, and background singers Yvonne Staples, Donny Gerrard, and Chavonne Morris, take the stage, adding a soulful strut to Buffalo Springfield’s “For What it’s Worth.” After a that Mavis Staples takes the mic to say that, “We’ve come tonight to bring you some joy, some happiness, inspiration, and some positive vibrations!”

With that said, the mojo gets deep, funky, and fun. “Wade in the Water” from Mavis’ current studio album, was brought to a higher plane as the band jammed for six minutes plus, with Mavis roaring at times like a late train that’s trying to catch up with Curtis Mayfield’s train that left the station on time from “People Get Ready.” Both songs being about redemption and damnation. The background singers sweetly countered some of Mavis’ gutsiest vocals.

“This Little Light of Mine” which is usually given a traditionally spiritual reading, on “Live: Hope at the Hideout,” in Chicago, Mavis and the band conjure up a emotionally charged, but slow, smoldering cadence. The effect- it bristles with energy heightened by Mavis’ free flowing guttural growl that’s positively enlightening. It’s a stark change from Springsteen’s version who, on the “Live in Dublin” album, with The Seeger Sessions band, turned it into a righteous rockier, seating right it in the front pew.

Even the more slow, introspective numbers like “Waiting for My Child,” or “Why Am I Treated so Bad,” are attention-getting spirituals that focus on Mavis’ and the band’s interplay. It’s like sharing a secret between the audience and the artist. The band is viding off the audience, as they audience vibes off the band, creating an equally upward, musical spiral taking the songs to another place and time. Packing both equal parts intellectual, and emotional feeling into an organic thing, with both songs catching fire.

Hearing “We Shall Not be Moved” just two days after the presidential elections, and Mavis’ first-hand experience about racial discrimination, is both inspiring and shameful. We still have a long way to go but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

With many exciting peaks and valleys the show was kicked up a couple of notches by the encores of the traditionally upbeat spiritual, “Will the Circle be Unbroken,” “On My Way,” with it’s slow blues break, and The Staple Singers original, “I’ll Take You There.” The latter song ended the night, and was a standout. Led my Mavis Staples’ and underpinned only by Rick Holston’s subliminal guitar licks, they never approach the originals flaring, horn-fired R&B groove, but they did get the point across: Joy, Happiness, Inspiration, and Positive Vibrations!- Phil Rainone

Rodney Finally Gets Some Respect

2008-11-06T15:49:00.000-08:00

Rodney Dangerfield - Greatest Bits (Shoutfactory.com)

Eternally Cool, Rodney Dangerfield Took Low Self-Esteem to New Heights

The aptly titled, “Greatest Bits” consists of six of Rodney Dangerfield’s best live bits including the songs “Finiculi Finiula” and “Rappin’ Rodney.”

Starting out as a comedian in vaudeville, Rodney Dangerfield worked his way (doing both comedy shows and actually working at clubs) through the Dinner Club Circuit, Vegas, talk shows (Ed Sullivan-16 appearances, The Tonight Show 70-plus), and also movies like Caddyshack and Back to School. As the life-of-the-party golf club owner, or school Dean, respectively, he endlessly honed his comedic act. What made Rodney such a good comedian was, you could almost picture that his one-liners were a part of his life. “My old man, he carries around the picture of the kid that came with the wallet.”

One of the few times Rodney sang, he did it without shtick. “Finiculi Finicula” is Louis Prima/ Keeley Smith- worthy, a traditional Italian standard that Rodney does old-school.- Hey, The Dropkick Murphys might want to turn this one into live show rebel-rouser, like they did with The Kingston Trio’s “Charlie and the MTA” or Woody Guthrie’s “Blackout Tonight!”

“Rappin’ Rodney” was put out in the 80’s capitalizing on Caddyshack and Back to School. Chock full of his “I get no respect” bits, he still feels out of place with the times musically, as he yearns to hear “Stardust” while watered-down, drum machine-driven rap beat drive him crazy. As he yearns for the bygone standard, and cries about “getting no respect” throughout the album, you know he’s actually laughing all the way to the bank!

Rodney was the Everyman of comedy. You could see yourself not only in his jokes (“I went to look for a used car and found my wife’s dress in the backseat”), but in his appearance, as he’d start to get jittery, and nervous, adjusting his tie, eyes (“You know what the trouble is with me? I appeal to everyone who can do me absolutely no good“) - sending laughter reverberating around the club.

Rodney passed away in 2004. Like Roy Orbison - who was constantly in search of getting the girl in his songs like “In Dreams,” or “Pretty Woman” - Rodney was constantly seeking respect - especially From his wife, Joan Dangerfield (the brunt of endless jokes), who wrote a loving tribute to Rodney in the liner notes. Whether he was dealing with kids or doctors (the infamous Vinny Boombots- I’m not sure of the spelling of the good doctor’s name,) Rodney’s one liners were fast, hit-and-run, barnstorming, laugh-a-minute belly laughs. He epitomized the guy with the black cloud over his head, always with a sadder story than yours, using the response, “you think you got problems, buddy?”

“Every time I do something it never comes out right. That’s how I got my name, Rodney Dangerfield. When I went into show business, I wanted to better myself. I saw an ad in the paper it said, ‘Improve your personality.’ So went to see the man, and he told me my personality was ok, but my name was my problem. I said to him, ‘My name?’ Well, how can a name be a problem? Even William Shakespeare said, ‘What’s in a name?’ He said, ‘Who?’ (everyone laughing). I said, ‘WILLIAM SHAKESPEARRE!’ He said, ’Look you wanna listen to me or you wanna listen to your friends?’ ( HUGE laughter)! - from “What’s in a Name”).

In his endless search for respect, he brought us along for the ride, showing us our faults, shortcomings, and how to laugh at ourselves along the way! In the end, Roy got the girl, and Rodney got his well deserved respect. - Phil Rainone

The Man In Black Remembered, Punk Rock Style

2008-11-01T12:53:00.001-07:00

All Aboard: A Tribute to Johnny Cash - Various Artists (Anchorlessrecords.com)

Anchorless Records will donate all the profits of this release to The Syrentha Savio Endowment, a non-profit organization that provides financial assistance to underprivileged women who cannot afford the expense of fighting breast cancer.

About a year ago fellow Jersey Beater Tim and I caught a Bouncing Souls show at Asbury Lanes ( I hear they’re in Asbury preparing their new album, which they’re going to release one song a month starting January ‘09). After finishing an intensely fun show, one of their encores was a Johnny Cash cover “Ring of Fire,” which left most of us gap-mouthed. They turned Johnny’s authentic rockabilly number into an acoustic tale of sorrow, and personal misfortune.

On All Aboard: A Tribute to Johnny Cash, The Souls lead off the 16 song disc with “Man in Black.” Above a jangely guitar riff, lead singer Greg, sounding like a almost evangelical David Byrne explaining, “Well you wonder why I always dress in black/ Why you never see bright colors on by back/ And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone/ Well, there’s a reason for the things I have on/ I wear the black for the poor and beaten down/ Living in the hopeless, hungry side of town…” If ever there were a punk rock credo, and a band to deliver it, this would be the perfect match. Tim and I interviewed the Souls at this years Warped Tour and you couldn’t find a more down to earth, focused band that embraced these words whole-heartedly.- Americana Punk.

Chuck Ragan takes on “Wreck of the Old ’97” with ragged, arrested rage. An acoustic guitar and fiery fiddle accent Chuck’s heart-felt vocals, which rivals the original for old-school story telling reminiscent of Woody Guthrie or Pete Seeger.

The Gaslight Anthems’ cover of “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” (Johnny’s last single before his death a few years ago), The Loved Ones’ “Cocaine Blues,” and “Give My Love to Rose” by Onguard, featuring Jason Shevchuk of Kid Dynamite, create a three-song groove that connects them, intertwining inspiration, desperation, God and the Devil, all of which John struggled with most of his life. And that’s part of what made Johnny Cash and his music so inspiring. He could bare his soul, fleshing out the good, the bad, and the ugly. Sometimes backing slowly out of Hell, other times running gloriously into the arms of God. Addiction and redemption, as genuine as you can get.

The Dresden Dolls, known for their eccentric cabaret approach, create an eerie, simplistic, vibe on “Ballad of a Teenage Queen” that draws your attention, taking you further inside Johnny’s original. Same for Chon Travis on “Folsom Prison Blues,” only he plays it more close to the vest, with acoustic guitar, and his powerful, expressive vocals.

MXPX (“Hey Porter”), The Flatlanders (“Cry, Cry,Cry”), The Sainte Catherines (“There You Go”), and Russ Rankin from Good Riddance (“I Walked the Line“), match the heart-wrenching qualities of these life-stories with enthaustic vigor. What made Johnny Cash famous, and at times infamous is: John could pack a song with magical, concentrated intimacy that is timeless.

Nothing on All Aboard: A tribute to Johnny Cash is half-done or filler. The album is basically in your face with covers of both obvious, and obscure hits. Thank God no one covered A Boy Named Sue!”

- Phil Rainone

From Country Soul to Punk and Metal, Lucinda Williams & Buick 6 Cross Genres Without Fettering Much About It!

2008-10-16T21:34:00.001-07:00

Lucinda Williams - Little Honey (Lost Highway)

I’ve always had a hard time listening Lucinda Williams songs. The way she can write a song, usually about love lost, broken heats, or bad relationships ( “Change the Locks,” and “Joy” are good example), they’ve always hit home with me. The aching, the pain, the struggle, the joy, and happiness, it’s like she’s having a one on one musical conversation with you. You just know that she’s speaking usually from personal experience. Amazing how she can touch you so deep.

On Little Honey, Lucinda’s found her soul mate, and is head over heels in love, like on the opening cut “Real Love.” It’s a guitar fueled rocker with a sunny vibe. But she still finds the sense of loss and longing in songs like “Circles and X’s,” or “Well, Well, Well,” that dates back to 1992’s Sweet Old World.

The sweet, pedal steel guitar work by Doug Pettibone on “Tears of Joy,” puts the song at the forefront, mixing and matching genre’s with effortless enthusiasm. Buick 6 which will be her touring band this time around supplies the musical mojo. They’re also the opening act, so you just know that these guys are going to have a lot of extra gas in their tank!

After hearing the band absolutely rock out one of nastiest jams ever on “Honey Bee,” it struck me that I’d love to hear Lucinda and Joan Jett write a couple of songs together. Hell, how about a whole album and a tour! Add to the mix a wide-eyed, flat-out rocker, a twangy cover of AC/DC’s “It’s a Long Way to the Top.” it’s Lucinda and the band sounding like road warriors dispensing advice to those younger bands that are about to rock: “Getting had/Getting took? I tell you folks, it‘s harder than it looks/ It‘s a long way to the top, if you wanna rock ’n’ roll.” In her own version of how a band measures success on “Rarity,” she mournfully tells the story of a very talented songwriter who can’t find her way in a monstrous music business that lives by the motto that, “Your only as good as your last album,” and “Where’s the Hits?” Stupid, Neanderthalic credos’ that have surly derailed a lot of good artists over the generations.

With Elvis Costello playing the role of her drunken boyfriend in the mini-drama “Jailhouse Tears,” they recreate the love/hate, comic relief relationship that was found in The Pogues’ Fairy Tail of New York” all those eons ago.- A brilliant and sobering piece.

Lucinda’s been recording since the late 70’s, hitting a musical stride in the 80’s with “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road,” which was reissued last year as a two CD set. Although her albums were few and far between up until recently (she released the strikingly different, downcast “West,” last year), the quality of her writing and musicianship has been steady improving. With much emphasis placed on unfulfilled relationships, Lucinda has that special ability to capture in music a decisive moment between a man and a woman when there is that make or break point, sometimes several where you know it’s not where want to be, but you just can’t help yourself.

“Whatever record I’m doing reflects my life,” Lucinda said in an issue of Rolling Stone. But you know that from listening to her past albums, and epically Little Honey, that she doesn’t have much use for the idea that personal contentment might take away her artistic edge. A relationship or what happens I life for that matter, will never be TOO good.

What makes Little Honey, and Lucinda William’s body of work so meaningful is, that the mark of a true artist is to synthesize various musical elements, and then create something that is completely original. She has definitely captured that spirit and sense of artistic vibrancy here.- Phil Rainone

Between The Trees

2008-09-14T08:06:00.000-07:00

Between the Trees - The Story and the Song (Universal)

The Story and the Song is a more mature record that draws further on sources like neo-soul and pop punk to stretch the band's expanding skills on songs like "White Lines & Red Lights," or "Words," from these 11 well-drawn, heartfelt songs. Simple but not simpleminded, guitars weave in and around each other over a sturdy rhythm section. Pop punk bands are a dime a dozen, but occasionally one with that special undefinable "something," comes along which makes up for all the uninspired strivers. Between the Trees consistently fine songs with memorable harmonies and alluring lyrics, which help to make The Story and the
Song an eminent strong release by a young, hungry band. - Phil Rainone

Dead Betties- This is My Brain on Drugs (www.thedeadbetties.com)

Opening with a cool, hardcore surf rock intro on "Tuff Shit", which sounds like Dick Dale strangling the lead singer with one of his guitar strings, The Dead Betties go straight for the jugular (pun intended)! "This is My Brain on Drugs" is fueled with an adrenaline rush of punk rock, over a trippy vocal that lends itself to early Jam records. Even with these comparisons, The Dead Betties have created a pioneering sound, including a big handful of ingeniousley derivative single-ready tunes. Updating 60's pop-art rock and 70's glam, the album contains some amazing songs that genuinely get to the heart of the matter, even though they may be talking about fast food, like in "Burger Lust" or "Money Honey," which is all about the Benjamins- punk rock style.The trio of Eric: guitars, Josh: bass, vocals and Derek: drums, even delve into kitschy power pop on "Litterbug." A kicky tune about, well.. being a litter bug! Most of the songs on "This is My Brain on Drugs" have simple, easy to relate to themes, but at the same time their lyrically challanging. Formidable rock 'n' roll guitar-powered, rhythm section heavy, everyone including the listener winds up sharing a good time, with these contagiously loud, pop-rooted, powerhouse punk rock tunes! - Phil Rainone

Forever the Sickest Kids - Underdog Alma Mater (Universal)

As we were criss-crossing between interviews and band sets at this years Warped Tour, we caught the last song from Forever the Sickest Kids set. Interestingly, the crowd didn't disburse as soon as their set ended. Most of them hung there, kind of slack-jawed, looking like they just used up their energy allotment for the day, vibing out to the bands manic mojo! On their new album "Underdog Alma Mater," Forever the Sickest Kids, who hail from Dallas, Texas, are an electronic power pop band that knows how to get any crowd in the party mood. They became the darlings of Pure Volume practically overnight, which proves that the art of music videos is far from dead."Hey Brittany" is a tongue-in-cheek (bite down hard), sort of love letter, minus the emo kitsch, adding punk gusto to the frenzied, but not over the top bratty atmosphere.Clear-voiced, with rich, electric pop punk, FTSK delivers a tastefully loud surge as they flirt shamelessly with mainstream radio, and that's a good thing. The album has an undercurrent of recklessness and individuality that is shored up on songs like the barely contained "Castasrophe," the industrial pop punk of "She's a lady," and the ominous 'Phone Call." Forever the Sickest Kids re-imagine the template, testing varied rough waters with conviction, and wild-eyed enthusiasm. Not great, but getting there. - Phil Rainone

Great Hair, Great Songs

2008-09-06T16:14:00.000-07:00

Glen Campbell - Meet Glen Campbell (Capitol)

Ok, I know what your gonna say, espically the Boss... like after I reviewed The Three Dog Night CD... 'What's Glen Campbell got to do with Punk Rock?!' Well sir, after what seems like a gazillion years of recording and touring, they didn't decide to call this new release "Meet Glen Campbell," for nothing. Glen covers... Hey wait a doggone minute! Didn't I see a copy of The Archies (cool name for a cat also) at The Boss' crib not long ago, right next to a couple of Ramones albums? LOL!

Well ok, maybe Glen Campbell isn't as uptight and outta sight as The Archies, but on "Meet Glen Campbell" he covers Tom Petty ("Walls," & "Angel Dreams"), Foo Fighters ("Times Like These"), Jackson Browne ("These Days"), Paul Westerberg ("Sadly Beautiful"), U2 ("All I Want is You"), Lou Reed ("Jesus"), Green Day ("Good Riddance (Time of Your Life"), and John Lennon's beautiful lament, "Grow Old With Me."

Campbell comes as close as any recent band has to translate the spirit of these ten songs into his own. He plies tales of tribulation, remorse, love, hope, and especially faith in a style that combines an acute understanding of all these genre's music dynamics with at times, grit and determination. He made "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" even more sincere and passionate than the original, which is not an easy task. The closer, "Grown Old With Me," which was originally written by John & Yoko, demonstrates surprising melodic subtlety with the use of strings, mandolin, banjo and pedal steel guitar.

This album should serve well to those detractors who think of Glen Campbell as "The Rhinestone Cowboy," and maybe rightly so, but if like Neil Diamond, who did two creative albums with Rick Rubin, he chooses his songs, producers and band members well, this style should serve him well into the future.- Phil Rainone

Endless Summer

2008-08-27T17:18:00.000-07:00

Brian Wilson- That Lucky Old Sun (Capitol)

The Beach Boys have always been greater than the sum of their parts, creating amazing records year after year (not counting the gazillion "Best Of" computations), and could also at times walk the fine line by creating cool solo albums (Carl, Dennis, Mike, and Bruce). Whether they were mega-hits like the early 60's "Summer Days/Summer Nights" album, where it felt like you were at the beach with the music blasting and the Summer bunnies were boppin' down the beach with the radio, or "Surfs Up," where the Boys were disillusioned, and downhearted with what was going on with the environment back in the 70's. Brian Wilson's new album "That Lucky Old Sun," finds him reuniting with his original label Capitol Records. He and the stellar band that he's been playing with for over five years are once again greater than the sum of the parts, helping to flesh out Brian's passion for music and melodic melodies. With songwriting support from Van Dyke Parks who help co-write the recently long, unfinished "Smile" album, and Scott Bennett, who also helped produce the new album, Brian is back in his element, writing, producing and arranging with passion and excitement.

The feel and texture of "That Lucky Old Sun" is more a combination of 70's cycle albums like "Surfs Up," "Holland," or "Smiley Smile." Simple, melodic stories like "Oxygen to the Brain," "Room With a View," or the upbeat, perennial Summer song, "Forever My Surfer Girl." On tunes like "Been Too Long," and just about any song here really, Brian and the band create spot-on Beach Boys- like, beautiful harmonies. In-between some of the songs Brian a mixes in a few interesting narratives, on the line of "Holland's" beautiful, "California Saga," trilogy. The boogie-woogie upbeat piano of "Going Home" is underpinned with darkness that changes to bright sunshine with lines like, "At 25 I turned out the light/ 'Cause I couldn't handle the glare in my tired eyes/ But now I'm back, drawing shades of kind blue skies." Brian deals with his demons that refer to his famous mental breakdown in 1967, but you can feel the goodness in his songs and the
healing feeling in his heart.

"That Lucky Old Sun" tends to be nostalgic, but in a good way. Brian reminisces about his deceased brothers Carl and Dennis in "Southern California," with praise and fondness, rather than remorse and sorrow. On the upbeat "Oxygen to the Brain" Brian sings with a reborn will, "I wasted a lot of years," but his self-confidence is evident when he ends with determination, "I'm filling up my lungs again and breathing ife." Whether or not Brian and the rest of the remaining Beach Boys Mike, Bruce, and Al get together again or not, Brian is writing and performing again with a natural soulfulness and passion that was evident in the his first solo album, "Love and Mercy" in the 90's. - Phil Rainone

BB King - One Kind Favor (Geffen)

BB King went back to "the BB King that was," with a four piece band including Dr. John on keyboards, Nathan East on stand up acoustic bass, and Jim Keltner bringing his best R&B chops to the session. According to King, "My voice is nothing like it was, and maybe my playing isn't like it was, but I believed that we could do something different than what I've been doing recently and not worry about sounding contemporary." And that is exactly what came out of these recording sessions that were produced by T. Bone Burnett. Style, class, and some of the best blues like, "The World Gone Wrong," "Sitting on Top of the World," and the ageless, subtle blues rocker, "See That My Grave is kept Clean," recapture much of the spirit and sound of BB's early recordings, complete with rich, horn section blasts, vintage-style distortion on the vocals, that electrifies King's lion's-roar vocals, and stinging lead guitar played live in the studio. Burnett is as much a music curator as he a producer, like when he recenty produced Robert Plant and Alison Krauss' magnificent "Raising Sand" album. For King's album Burnett found blues oldies ranging from the Mississippi Sheiks' "Sitting on Top of the World," to Howlin' wolf's "How Many More Years."

The title of the album was taken from a line in the opening cut of Bind Lemon Jefferson's "See The My Grave is Kept Clean," that is heartbreakingly intimate. The songs flow, ebb, rock, roll and are full of soul. They have the feel that no one at this recording session was working, but more like they were creating… Creating a slightly altered cadence that both reflected and reframed these 12 covers which influenced King in the 1950s. They evoke his musical journey that he's still traveling today, as he approaches his 83rd birthday. - Phil Rainone

Matthew Sweet- Sunshine Lies (Shoutfactory.com)

On Matthew Sweets new album Sunshine Lies, he shuffles around a few pages of psychedelic hard rock riffs from The Beatles' "Yellow Submarine," is inspired by some of Donovan's universally, cosmic lyrics, and just for fun, breaks out a vinyl copy of The Stones' "Her Satanic Majesty's Request," plays it backwards, than spreads some of his magical mojo all around creating an unmatched, unpretentious album featuring a whirling mellotron, upfront vocals, and a cornucopia of musical instruments. For all the impressive name dropping Sweet plays nearly all the instruments himself, and also wrote and produced, and manages to maitain a consistent feel throughout "Sunshine Lies," which is a bit like R.E.M. and early dB's, creating sincere power-popish tunes. The album never overdoses on pleasantness, or moderate tempos. Adventurous and entertaining, this album easily outclasses most neo- psychedelic wannabees with
abundant invention and originality that will definitely rock your socks off! - Phil Raionone

Reivisiting Mott, and Some Rare Live Bowie

2008-08-20T15:16:00.001-07:00

The Mott The Hoople/ Ian Hunter Anthology - Old Records Never Die (Shoutfactory.com)

This two disc compilation covers a lot of stylistic ground in 32 tracks. From the opening cut, "Rock and Roll Queen," "Walkin' With a Mountain," & Whisky Women," the whole disc will have you rockin' and reelin' right from the get go! Amazing songs like the Bowie-penned glam rocker, "All The Young Dudes" and the band's fine contributions like "All The Way From Memphis," "Ballad of Mott The Hoople," and the singalong rocker, "Roll Away The Stone," were all geared for for easy chart ascent, without the typical go-for-the-jugular commercialism. These songs were instead, like mini rock operas. Storytelling at its finest and sometimes ferocious, as in the case of "The Golden Age of Rock 'N' Roll." A cover of The Velvets' "Sweet Jane" rivals Bowie's cover of "Waiting For The Man" (the live version is on the newly released David Bowie Live Santa Monica '72), both offering provocative readings of pop culture at it's sleeziest. Sadly missing is Mott's original version of "Ready For Love," which beats the crap out of Bad Company's (Mick Ralph's later formed Bad Company with Paul Rodgers), stiff-as-a-board version. For sheer fun, try the shout-along rocker "Honaloochie Boogie." Disc two is all Ian Hunter solo material. Like the Mott disc, the songs sound like they were recorded with first-take enthusiasm and a free wheeling vibe. "Once Bitten Twice Shy," "Just Another Night," and the over-the-top smash "Cleveland Rocks" (originally titled "England Rocks") find Hunter in a groove. He sounds loose, loud, blunt, and to the point. Significant tunes for anyone interested in his music. The apply titled song for the anthology, "Old Records Never Die," is a slow burner, that compares life to making music. Hunter looks back and forward with pain, sorrow, happiness and joy, but never gets drearly nostalgic. Bookended with rockers like "When The Daylight Comes," and "Central Park N' West," you're given a breather, as both are incessant rockers that will have you bound for the dance floor!More current numbers out of Hunter's song book, "Still Love Rock and Roll," from 2001, and "Words (Big Mouth)," from Hunter's recent solo album in 2007, are inspired, rather than just functional. Uncluttered, Ian Hunter delivers songs genuinely soulful, gritty, and are personally reflective. A unique combination and overview of a long, and hopefully longer musical career! - Phil Rainone

David Bowie - Live Santa Monica '72 (EMI) (available on CD and vinyl)

Throughout his lengthy career, David Bowie has worked in many musical areas, and virtually all of them have proven enormously influential, even if it's taken years for the rest of us to catch up with him. He could shift gears, styles and fashions almost as often as shirts, and by example, help keep pop and rock developing and changing. Even his choice of cover songs has helped to define hip over the generations. On Santa Monica '72. he does The Velvet Underground's "Waiting For The Man" with almost as much tension as the original, glamming it up at points to create a fresh look at the junkie nervously waiting for his fix. Bowie's played an essential role in glam rock, new wave, post-punk, neo-soul, dance music, etc.

Although he actually started recording in the late 60's, on this disc we join David Bowie and The Spiders From Mars - including lead guitarist and vocalist Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder (bass,) Mick Woodmansey (drums,) and Mike Garson (keyboards) - in progress at the dawn of the 70's in Santa Monica, California’s Civic Auditorium. With ticket prices at $5.50 a pop, this was originally an unreleased, live radio broadcast on KMET. It was Bowie and the band's first live radio appearance in the US. I don't know if they video taped the show, but Bowie is one of those performers whose show is both a sound and visual experience. I had seen him when they did the "Station to Station" tour. The show was done in black and white (lighting, outfits, instruments, etc.), which was very dramatic, and fun! In his Ziggy Stardust persona, Bowie and The Spiders From Mars must have been extremely musically intoxicating! When the band gets down to guitar-heavy rock 'n' roll, which comprises about 3/4 of the show, courtesyy of Mick Ronson's adventurous and thrilling playing, it's virtually unmatched as the rest of the band plays like whirling dervishes, inspiring Bowie to new heights. The opening song "Hang on to Yourself," is classic Ziggy, with the band morphing into the best rock and roll band in the world, at least for the night. Bowie and band slip back into their hippie-folkie-caberet days with catchy versions of "Changes," Space Oddity" and "Andy Warhol." The redemptive "Life on Mars," and "Queen Bitch" are essential cornerstones here, echoing the glam-sci-fi decadent world that Bowie had been assembling for the last three albums. About a year or so later he would take a brief "retirement" from music, only to come back stronger and more vibrant with "Aladdin Sane" and the "Pin-Ups" covers album.

On Live Santa Monica '72, Bowie's alien role-playing was in earnest, and they spat out some of the grittiest rock 'n' roll this side of Jupiter like, "Moonage Daydream," "The Jean Genie," and the apocalyptic "Rock 'N' Roll Suicide." The album peaks with a super-charged "Suffragette City" with everyone including the band and the audience on board for a joy ride that paints a bleak picture of the future of rock 'n' roll with slow, burning cinematic strokes, and a killer ending ("Rock 'N' Roll Suicide" was the one song the encore), with the band head over heels into the song. You can just picture Bowie on the edge of the stage asking the audience to "Turn on with me!" and to "Give me your hands!!"

This is one of those turning point albums. Whether you were there or not, you can feel the electrifying push and pull of the band and the audience as one! - Phil Rainone

Simple (Guilty) Pleasures Are The Best!

2008-08-13T17:35:00.000-07:00

Three Dog Night - Greatest Hits Live (Shoutfactory.com)

History teaches us not to dismiss kiddie pop rock. Stevie Wonder was once ‘Little’ Stevie Wonder, and let's not forget the impression that bubblegum pop (Herman's Hermit's, The Archies, etc.), left on punk bands like the Ramones and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (both covered "Indian Giver" by the 1910 Fruitgum Co. with conviction.) Cynical purists disdain tweenybopper music as crap, fostered by Svengalis (aka: "The Suits") who sit in the their gilded palaces counting their gold records. But bubblegum can be a great farm system, honing skills that pay dividends further on down the road.

So, here's where I'm going with this... Back in the day, Three Dog Night, who were named after what an Eskimo needed for warmth (three of his sled dogs) to keep from getting frost bite on those frigid Winter nights, was one of this Tweener's fave five, including Iron Butterfly, Beach Boys, Tommy James & the Shondells, The Beatles, and a gazillion others. Having seen their live concert back in the early 70's in Asbury Park (back when Asbury Lanes was still a bowling alley, and The Stone Pony was Mrs. Jay's Restaurant - yummy burgers, fries and root beer) was thrilling! They were one of the premier singles bands around. Pop hits like "Celebrate," "Easy to be Hard," and the over-the-top-rocker, "One" (it's still the loneliest number) easily reached the top of the charts back in the late 60's and early 70's. This never before issued live album was recorded on their world tour '72/'73. The single disc of 12 songs represents Three Dog Night at the height of their popularity. Compared to "Live at the Forum" a few years earlier, the mojo, moxie and musical magic the band conjures up is head and shoulders above the earlier disc. On stage (they should put out a DVD of this live show), Three Dog Night cuts loose with a freewheeling energy that blows the audience away. I remember seeing them in Asbury and feeling excited and energized! I think their show ran a little long, and my buddy Gary and I missed the last train home, and had to call his Mom to come pick us up at like 1am. She was NOT a happy camper, trekking all the way from South Amboy and back, but she was like a second Mother to me. The vocal pyrotechnics, three part harmonies, and sweat-drenched showmanship were part of what made the world disappear (and Gary and I to forget about catching our train home!) Three Dog Night were a covers band, but you'd never know it. Using a cornucopia of writers like Randy Newman ("Mama Told Me Not to Come"), Laura Nyro ("Eli's Coming"), and Harry Nilsson ("One"), among other notable artists, they also tackled gritty blues, performing a stellar cover of "Try a Little Tenderness," which Otis Redding had made a hit with a few years earlier. Sorely missing on this live album is a cover of Jimmy Cliff's "Sitting in Limbo," and The Band's "Chest Fever," which was a huge number the whole band could rock out on. Otherwise, this is a great ride back to the future. It's steeped in clear, jangly guitars, and a poppin' rhythm section, three-part harmonies that are to die for, and cotton candy choruses that can be found on later bands like Cheap Trick or currently We The Kings. Hearing their music live again is a reminder that the genre's commercial saviors had arrived. Overall, "Greatest Hits Live" is a blast - as assured as any pop rock album released in recent years. I'm ready to dust off my old Three Dog Night 45's and put them on my MP3 player, via the Numark turntable I just brought with a USB port! - Phil Rainone

Scratch Is Back!

2008-08-11T17:58:00.000-07:00

Lee "Scratch" Perry - Repentance (Narnackrecords.com)

Certainly eccentric, possibly mad (even his past record company's acknowledges it), Lee "Scratch" Perry is one of Reggae's most influential producers, with a career that spans the entire history of the genre. From talent scout, to producer, to recording artist, he was involved in hit after hit for Jamaican artists, assembling the original Wailers, and producing their earliest hits in the 50's. He also collaborated with The Clash on "Complete Control," with his "dub" style of music being an even a bigger influence on The Clash's Sandinsta album. He also had his hands in the mix on Junior Murvin's on "Police and Thieves, " which The Clash covered, and The Beastie Boys' "Dr. Lee PhD." Perry has also done extensive solo work, composing, arranging, and singing, as he has done on this new release, Repentance. He's created some new signature tunes like "Shine," "Pum Pum," and Chooga Cane." These songs are definitely where the bass is the place, where space constantly shifts, where age does not wither (Lee's easily in his 70's), where reason sleeps with dub, and they all get bounced around, turned upside down, every which way! This is where reason and mindless fun are soulmates.

As in the past, Lee pushes the frontiers of dub with his heavy sounds ("Crazy Pimp"), surprising tricks (Baby Sucker"), and unorthodox methods ("Santa Claus"), bringing it all full circle with "Party Time," the crowning jewel. If you ain't out on the dance floor rump shakin' to this mad, mix master monster of a hit, than you ain't alive! With guest artists running the musical/artist gambit like Moby and adult entertainer Sasha Grey, once again Lee "Scratch" Perry shows those young gun DJ's (you know those guys like DJ Fuck Head, and all those jerks that think they're the cat's ass with their Pro Tools "scratch and sniff" crap), that he's the originator, and the real deal! - Phil Rainone

Reverend Patyon's Big Damn Band - The While Fam Damily (Sideonedummy.com)

Comprised of only three people ( they do make quite a ruckus) who are related - that being the good Reverend Payton, guitarist extraordinare, his wife Breezy Payton on washboard (not as easy an instrument to play as you might think), and on drums you have his brother, Jayme Peyton. Theses three country-blues aficionados, play a combination of folk, meshed with some of the finest finger style guitar (think Robert Randolph and the Family Band), this side of the Mississippi (they're from Indiana). Talk about authenticity, The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band is so damn good that they were hand-picked by none other than Flogging Molly to open for the Irish folk rockers. To try to put their music in a nut shell would be impossible. The Rev's vocals sound like cross between Leon Redbone and JJ Cale. Rough and gruff, like melodic, metallic sandpaper. On a strictly musical level, the album has a country/funk feel, and an inviting rhythm section. There's even a bit of upbeat, romantic crooning on "I'd Love You Baby." It's more of a tongue-in-cheek romp, about a guy who has a girlfriend, but has a hankering for another fair young maiden, trying to keep a little something on the side. Fun and funny!This triumph should not go unnoticed by the masses. This disc is ragged and righteous! - Phil Rainone

Punk To The Last Drop

2008-07-08T19:20:00.001-07:00

Less Than Jake - Gnv Fla (Sleepitoffrecords.com)

Following a decade-and-a-half spent establishing themselves as one of Ska's most prolific and successful artists, Less Than Jake has taken a major step in controlling their past, present and future. They recently set up their own label, Sleep it Off Records. They also re-released four of the band's early titles including "Pezcore," and "Goodbye, Blue & White," and they've included a DVD with each CD of live shows from around that era.

The music on Gnv Fla, which is named for their hometown of Gainesville, Florida, is far from formulaic. It's intoxicating ska that contains some of the most irresistible grooves anywhere. Within the framework of songs like "City of Gainesville," "The Life of the Party has Left the Building," and the seriously funny "Devil in My DNA" are simple, densely melodic lyrics weaved with an intricate web that serves as a base for the powerfully energetic vocals, that are enhanced by the bubbly punk-rock harmonies.

As much as LTJ's music flows in the studio, it is really meant to be heard live. Last Summer we - my son Steve, and friends and fellow Jersey Beaters Frank and his son Tim - saw them at Starland. As co-headliners, they opened for Reel Big Fish, and to be fair, it was a tie as to who was better musically, but Less Than Jake had a sort of The Price is Right, game show set, which put them over top in sheer, madcap fun and frivolity! Less Than Jake are on tour now with revolving touring mates like Mustard Plug, Suburban Legends, and Goldfinger, to name few. The songs on Gnv Fla have the feel that they’ll be allowed to go on longer in the live show, and the interaction between the band members and the audience will be more playful and intricate. So whether you’re a hardcore Less Than Jake fan, or a newbie checking out the ska/punk scene, Gnv Fla will bring a smile to your face and will cause instantaneous mosh pits! - Phil Rainone

Zebrahead - Phoenix (Myspace.com/Zebrahead)

Phoenix is one of the better punk albums to come out this year. This high energy, genre-bending disc has a crisp, metallic guitar sound and clear, comprehensive vocals. Hard-hitting songs like "HMP," "Hell Yeah," or "Mental Health," are like a big, sloppy (very cool), rush of punk, rock, demi-metal, and speedcore. A lyrically provocative record of substance and merit, that's topped off with crisp production and a thick guitar sound. Ali Tabatabaee sings and plays guitar in classic garage thrash, as the rest of the band - Greg Bergdorf- guitar, Matty Lewis- vocals/guitar, Ben Osmundson- bass, and Ed Udhus- drums - fully engage in their craft. No clumsy lyrics, or rudimentary production, this album proves that Zebrahead is not restrained by any kind of simple genre formula, especially listening to the closing song, "Sorry But Your Friends Are Hot." Spoofing that TV commercial "Who's in your fave five?", the tune is full of old-school piss-and-vinegar scorch. With lines like, "I'm the king of unaccountability/ I was born with the devil on my shoulder," denial and unbridled sex run rampant throughout a story of flavor-of-the-month-sex. The results of all these elements make up Zebrahead's blend of pop punk elements, and foundation-laying heaviness. They also include a DVD, "Broadcast to the World." Now, this is exactly what I'd want from a band. Music videos, tour footage, and a live show performance that includes some of these new songs, as well, as old favorites. The DVD makes this a complete Zebrahead experience. - Phil Rainone

New Wave Still A Groove, 30 Years Later

2008-07-06T15:18:00.000-07:00

Blondie - Parallel Lines (Expanded 30th Anniversary Edition) (EMI/Capitol)

Back in '78, CBGB's was a fertile musical breeding ground for the new generation of poets (Patti Smith), punks (Ramones), genre-benders (Talking Heads, B-52's), and new wave (Blondie,) to name just a few. This two-disc 30th Anniversary Edition includes a DVD for Blondie's music videos (MTV wasn't around yet) that shone a light on the band as a musical force that you couldn't ignore. "Hangin' on the Telephone" with its urgent guitar/drums/keyboard/vocal prowess, was in direct contrast with the pop swagger of "Sunday Girl" (French version here), and "Picture This." Than comes the Pop Rock Vamp meets Saturday Night Fever, the buoyantly pop and genre-crossing "Heart of Glass." All of which became MTV-worthy. That Blondie may be remembered as perhaps the best singles band to emerge from new wave - in fact, a world class hit making powerhouse (yeah, they deserved to get in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where Madonna didn't) - is extraordinary. For those who recall the humble genesis and occasional side steps into rockabilly, like the cover of Buddy Holly's rave-up, "I'm Gonna Love You Too," these New Yorkers had secured a recording contract that few expected to surpass
the commercial level of say, Lou Reed; i.e., a moderate fluke hit single, maybe a charting album, but mainly cult status. How could the immovable, generally disgusting commercial music establishment of the day somehow reverse itself and open up to Blondie? They were able to put the sounds in their heads on plastic - sounds that weren't just "Pure Pop For Now People," but pure pop for hit radio - in the most sincere , uncynical and popular resonating tradition. They engaged in an inspiring, positively subversive musical style where anything was possible. Original band members, singer Debbie Harry, guitarist Chris Stein, drummer Clem Burke, keyboard player Jimmy Destri, guitarist Frank Infante, and bassist Nigel Harrison, maintained a distinctive group identity. It's fair to note that many other singers/bands wet their musical toes in the same exotic waters only after Blondie set the precedent. Moreover, Blondie largely pursued their commercial and artistic goals in nonconformist fashion, often to the dismay of their record company and even some of their fans (I remember them opening for the Ramones at Convention Hall in Asbury Park all those years ago, when Parallel Lines was first released - seeing all the disco ducks salivating to hear the only Blondie song they knew, they were seemingly suffering through the best part of the band's set until they could finally "get down and get with it" to the disco-fied "Heart of Glass"), like the French version of the sultry smooth "Sunday Girl," the 7-inch single version of "Heart of Glass" and the nosebleed/headbanging remix of "Hangin on the Telephone," all of which are included on this 30th Ann. Edition. Some of their dabble weren't always successful like the doesn't-go-anywhere, zombie-ish "Fade Away and Radiate," but otherwise Blondie displayed childlike exuberance which at points extended the band's reach beyond its grasp on a few
of their future releases. On Parallel Lines, producer Mike Chapman took over the console, imposing his exacting, disciplined approach. In the liner notes Debbie Harry said in hindsight, "Making Parallel Lines" was a whole different experience compared to the previous records ("Blondie" & "Plastic Letters"). Mike Chapman had us working long hours and we did take after take until it was perfect, so it was labor intensive. We were very optimistic about this album and we had a lot of
confidence in the material." Throughout Parallel Lines, the band seems totally in control of every musical form it takes on, from the zombie metal of "One Way or Another" to the pop-a-billy punch of "I'm Gonna Love You Too," to the hit bound electro-disco flirtation of "Heart of Glass." Listening to it today, it still sparks of freshness and musical diversity. Blondie's on tour, and recently played in the area. They're currently in Europe, and hopefully they'll be back this way toward the end of the year. - Phil Rainone

Summer Love, with Special Sauce

2008-07-06T15:17:00.001-07:00

G. Love & Special Sauce - Superhero Brother (Brushfire Records)

Having played with Jack Johnson and written, produced, and played with John Hammond is not too shabby. In fact, it's part of a coolly diverse 360 degree circle that G. Love’s new album, Superhero Brother, is part of. G. Love & Special Sauce are hip-hop at its sweetest. But you won't hear them on rap/hip-hip radio stations, and they're anything but stereotypical, even when it comes to the blues.

They build albums much like Beck: A cool, eclectic mish-mosh of flavors and genres with a positive vision, hard work, and serious musicianship. They make it look like a breeze on tight tunes like "City Livin" or the boss, super hit single of the Summer, "Peace, Love, and Happiness." The band has the stuff inside that separates them from flavor-of-the-month bands. Blues, rock, and a propulsive, rhythm section that can bang out a beat, or play a cool, syncopated percussion is the baseline for just about every song here.

When the band's first single, "Cold Beverages" came out in 1994 I was hooked. Here was the bridge that you could easily cross, and ride on the energy that makes this band so unique. While "Crumble" verges on sweet, neon-soul, "What We Need" is funkified rock enriched with potent blues power. Betcha didn't think they knew how to rock 'n roll! G. Love's vocal delivery can be ironically sweet like in "Grand Mother," or knife sharp and direct, thick with dread like on "Wiggle Worm."

His 10th album, "Superhero Brother" is assured and versatile, an ambitious mixed bag that widens the band's range, and broadening their appeal as well. Stronger and more outspoken than ever; humor, anger, and love mingle with politics as the words twist, turn, jump, and sprawl out to create a message of music for listening, dancing, and sometimes serious contemplation. I'm not sure if G. Love & Special Sauce have played on the Warped Tour in the past, but they should definitely be considered now, and in the future. - Phil Rainone

Waking Up To The Alarm

2008-07-06T15:15:00.000-07:00

The Alarm - Guerilla Tactics (Lovehopestrength.org)

Starting out in the 1983 with their self-titled EP through 1991's "Raw," The Alarm created catchy, anthemic songs ("Marching On," "Sixty Eight Guns," "Spirit of '76," to name a few) that were slices of roughed-up folk rock. Musically, they were the exception to the rule, as they were the square peg in the round hole playing a mix of punk, alternative, and 60's protest folk, when it came to MTV and the slick, polish band's that the music channel was shoving down the throats of their millions of views.

Then as now, The Alarm represents the bridge between bands like the Clash, U2, or John Hammond, and Old 97's or rising stars Motorama, respectively. In fact, on their new album "Guerilla Tactics," lead singer/ guitarist Mike Peter's penned a tribute to the Clash ("Three Sevens Clash") and the punk scene that was exploding in the late 70's. Producer Gilby Clarke (Gun's 'N Roses) gives The Alarm pretty much a free hand, balancing the album between studied intensity and an all out rocker. The focus is on Mike Peters' vocals, that open up the sound of the band with intense dynamics and a strong rhythm section that propels the songs with anarchic grace.

One of the center pieces (15 songs in all), is "Love, Hope, and Strength" which, besides having a heaping share of echoed guitars, sweeping vocals, and bluesy harmonica slices, is also the name of Mike Peter's own cancer charity, Lovehopestrength.org. (Mike was diagnosed with Chronic lymphonic Leukemia in
2006, and with chemotherapy has been in remission. They even captured Mike's battle with cancer with a TV documentary "The Road to Recovery, that came out in 2006).

“Alarm Calling" is an energetic dance-rocker with a catchy melody, and is one of the many album's standout cuts. Along with their raw, expressive, close to the heart catalog, this album would fit perfectly into The Alarm's live set (they're playing at Joey Harrison's Surf Club in Ortley Beach on July 9, and House of Blues in Atlantic City on July 11).

Lyrically subtle, shining with muscular finesse, and combining the band's past, present, and future, this is an impressive Alarm album. - Phil Rainone

The Perfect Summer Soundtrack

2008-06-25T17:19:00.000-07:00

The Beach Boys- US Singles- The Capitol Years (1962-1965) (Capitol)

Springsteen and the E-Street Band are playing around the area, and "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" is the hit-bound, feel-good single of the Summer of '08. The B-52's just released a terrific new album, and are touring for the first time in quite a few years. I'm at the beach in Point Pleasant with my checkers beach towel (I've got the plastic checkers too), my Yankee frisbee & hat, a Dunkin' Donuts Smoothie (reduced calorie), with a shot of vodka, and my MP3 player on shuffle, while the Beach Bunnies are passing around the tanning lotion (yummy!). And The Beach Boys just released a groovy box set of 16 CD singles from 1962 to 1965.... Welcome to Summertime in New Jersey!!

I know what you're thinking - do we REALLY need another box set from The Beach Boys? And my answer is a great big... YES!!! This box set includes original A and B-sides of their first four years with Capitol Records, alternate versions, unreleased songs, live versions, and mono/stereo mixes (The Beach Boys use their five part harmonies like instruments so yes, there are important and fun differences in the mono/stereo versions), on 16 CD's (I wish they would have put them on vinyl also), 66 tracks in all. Think of it like when they released The Beatles' "Anthology" (they were labelmates and friendly rivals back in the 60's - Paul McCartney said that The Beatles' were inspired by "Pet Sounds" to make "Sgt. Pepper," just as Brian Wilson was inspired by "Rubber Soul" to create "Pet Sounds.") You get an interesting, fun perspective into the recording process, cool alternate versions of classics like "In My Room," "Fun, Fun, Fun," and one of my all-time favorites, the ultimate dance tune, "Dance, Dance, Dance," along with a whole slew of hits, and near misses (like the a capella version of "The Lord's Prayer," which takes you to church.) There's also a bonus disc consisting of "All Dressed Up For School" (unreleased), "I'm so Young" (unreleased), "Help Me Rhonda" (alternate mono mix), and "Graduation Day" (stereo mix), all of which add gap-mouth joy to all that has come before it on this box set. The collection also includes a 48 page photo book with faux sand finish (very cool), all in a 60's hotrod and surfboard-inspired red and yellow box.

I hope they're going to follow-up with more from the vaults like they did with the Beatles. Brian Wilson recently re-signed with Capitol Records. Hopefully he and the rest of the surviving members - Mike Love, Al Jardine, and Bruce Johnston - will kiss and make up. I think they could still make a few very good albums together. I think I'm gonna throw these discs in my CD player when I'm at the beach, and just let the bunnies vibe out to the soundtrack to my Summer! - Phil Rainone

Appreciative Bluesmen Pay Homage To A Master

2008-06-25T17:09:00.000-07:00

Solomon Burke - Like a Fire (Shout! Factory)

Solomon Burke brought gritty, fired-up blues down from the mountain top to a generation of rockers. On Like a Fire, a few of those appreciative musicians pay "The King of Soul" back in spades. A showcase for both writing and playing on this album features Danny Kortchmar on guitars, and Steve Jordan on drums, among others, and has songs written by Eric Clapton (he and Solomon also collaborated on the soulful, "Thank You,") Jesse Harris ("You and Me,") and Ben Harper ("A Minute to Rest a Second to Pray;" Harper also plays dobro and adds his spitirualized vocals).

Over the last six years the 68-year-old soul singer, has re-emerged from commercial oblivion with a string of albums that showcases his genius for ragged-voiced ballads and pure blues power. Produced by Steve Jordan, the songs emphasize Burke's up-tempo funk side, without detracting from his powerfully restrained soulfulness. Since his last album "Nashville," Solomon Burke and his band have not taken the easy way out. What could have easily been albums and shows that were watered-down, Vegas-style shenanigans reach for higher ground with songs that dig deep into ancient, 50's/60's soulful blues and highlight Solomon's electrifying voice and the band’s undaunting backbeat and emotionally fresh style of playing. These soulful jams find them gliding from a burly growl into bliss, sending out prayers that could save him at the altar, or in the boudoir. - Phil Rainone

From First To Last Release First Rate CD

2008-06-02T17:22:00.000-07:00

From First to Last (Interscope)

From First to Last's raucous, original sound is beyond dispute. What a lot of other bands use as a minimal pop punk factor, From First to Last expand on, creating sometimes brilliant, brutal hailstorms of hyper-distorted riffs, and pulverizing bass lines. This band is harder, louder, and meaner than nine out of ten bands of their genre. Framed by graceful, looming melodies, and enduring lyrics, the band by-passes self-indulgence in favor of free-form expression, and the result is a broad musical palette.

A lot of records belong to a specific time, but From First to Last's self-titled album continues to measure up as an ace slab of educated pop punk, right in tune with the ground rules laid down by Blink 182, Green Day, and others of that ilk.

This is an upbeat, emotional release that seasoned listeners have come to expect from a band that holds itself to high musical expectations - Phil Rainone

Mindless Self Indulgence - If (theendrecords.com)

One of the most unique and hard-working bands today ( you have to see them live
for the complete musical experience), Mindless Self Indulgence's music is infectious, featuring feisty electronics, metal, punk rock sound. They are seemingly untouchable when it comes to vulgarity, oddity, and uniqueness. If there had to be a genre distillation for what MSI are doing, it would be, hardcore, comic book musical.- It's in their sound and stage presentation. Dramatic keyboard/guitar-soaked songs that are literally begging to become off-kilter teenage anthems, with never ending choruses.
Technically, the songs are well-arranged and catchy, with some cinematic emoting. Full of synth beeps and boops and swishes that emphasis hardcore-influenced breakdowns, "If" plays like it's looking to get picked up by a teenager-geared Marvel movie. "If" is full of emotional choruses, and the album will have a lasting impact.
Mindless Self Indulgence are a band that that loves to make noise! - Phil Rainone

Old Grungesters Still Going Strong

2008-05-16T17:35:00.001-07:00

Local H - 12 Angry Months (Shout! Factory)

A few years ago we (my son Steve, and our friends and fellow Jersey Beaters, Frank & Tim), caught Local H's set at the Surf & Skate Fest in Asbury Park (now re-christened The Bamboozle, that's held in The Meadowlands). They were AWESOME! High energy that lit up the Paramount Theatre like a couple (they're a duo) of whirling dervishes spewing out some loud, reverberating alt-rock 'n' roll! On 12 Angry Months the unique two-man line up of Scott Lucas on vocals and guitar, and drummer Brian St. Clair explore post-breakup relationships and love gone sour. The stories are chronicled in these 12 songs (each song corresponds to a month), with bitterness, regret, and longing, with an I-hate-myself-for-loving-you feel that exposes raw nerve endings.

Throughout the album, Local H give themselves free rein, and the result is jangly, ringing, and at times wild. Weirdly tuned guitars that sound like a cross between an organ and strings are twisted with a powerful drumming wallop that can take the songs from extremely wild to moody, and haunting. "24 Hour Break-up Session" is a masterpiece of passion turned into a macabre memory, that intertwines a very powerful guitar/drum combination that probably hasn't been heard since Blue Cheer reared its ugly, rock/ blues/psychedelic head back in the 60's.

The songs on 12 Angry Months captures both the beauty and creepiness of a good relationship gone sour. The band's command of the versatility of the music, and lyrics are pivotal without diluting their brutal strength and emotional accessibility one iota. 12 Angry Months is Local H's first new studio album since 2004's Whatever Happened To P.J. Soles, which was just as explosive. Add it to their arsenal of music that they've been performing since 1995, and hearing them now (we saw them about five years ago), they make the change from great noise band to great band!

Listen to "Michelle (Again)" from 12 Angry Months by Local H

The Fletchers - Bright Blue Lights (thefletchersmusic.com)

The Fletchers have made an album that is confident, emotionally accessible, and encouraging. The opening cut "Above This" has precise drumming, and is awash with loud, but subtly interwoven guitars and harmonies. "Telephone" suffers from a flatness in the production that pops up now and then, but the band's staggeringly original and memorable music easily distract you. Durable from start to finish, The Fletchers write convincing songs like "Fatty," "Disorder," and "Paris" that are filled with melody, energy, and intelligence. I don't know how much time they had to flesh out and refine these 12 songs in the studio, but the music doesn't falter one bit. A sigh of a band that should sound even better live! - Phil Rainone

B.B & Dusty - Two Classics!

2008-05-13T14:59:00.000-07:00

Dusty Springfield - Live At The BBC DVD (Universal)

In a career that spanned five decades, Dusty Springfield's star shone the brightest in the 60's. With a string of hit records including "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me," "I Only Want To Be With You," "Son Of A Preacher Man," etc., she was one of the quintessential female vocalist of the era. In 1966 and 1967, Dusty hosted two very successful TV series for the BBC in England. This DVD shines a fresh, interesting light on these 61 performances. The combined sound and vision gives even the most hardcore Springfield fan a new view of the depth and breath of Dusty's stage presence. Motown standards like "Nowhere To Run," "Heatwave," or "Get Ready" were like fresh clay in Dusty's hands. She shaped and molded them into three minute-plus musical pop bulletins that, along with the backing musicians ( no names given), her arresting vocals and down-home style, was like turning lead into gold! Imagine, if you will, a parallel universe where a pretty blonde pop star can actually not only carry a tune (fill in the name of your favorite of-the-moment "pop tart"), but also write some of her own songs, and fret over artistic integrity. There's no making out with Madonna, no messy divorce, no custody battle, no changing your AKA from "The Queen of Soul" to "The Empress of Music." Instead there's raw, intense talent, and a credible, long career. In other words. Dusty Springfield is the real deal, and here in living-color, and for over two hours you'll understand why. Dusty could touch your heart ("I'll Never Stop Loving You, "Time After Time"), as well as your mind ("Pick Yourself Up," "Can't We Be Friends"), and not miss a heartbeat. She was a true, original talent. Extras include Dusty's appearances on The Tom Jones show, among others, and an "Audio Jukebox" that features all the songs from her shows, plus six studio versions of some of her most well known hits including "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me," and "Son Of A Preacher Man." Soulful and searching, Dusty Springfield was one of a kind, and this DVD is as enlightening as it is fun. - Phil Rainone

B. B. King- Live At The Apollo (Verve/ Universal)

On Live At The Apollo (recorded in 1991), B.B. King and his big band blast their way through these ten tunes like cosmic shamen of funk, R&B, and especially the blues, at one of the musical cradles of all things Soul. Opening with a horn-rich performance of "When Love Comes To Town," originally done with U2, they lay out the groundwork for the lovesexy crunch and urban clatter of "Sweet Sixteen," followed by the I'm-sick-of-love, slow barnburner "The Thrill Is Gone." Throughout the album, B.B.'s back-up band and singers grabbed at styles from Al Green, to James Brown, yet ultimately landed in the lap of King's unmistakable guitar playing and soulful strut that ring from the rafters and back, from the fabled Apollo Theatre. The band is a tightly orchestrated, precise unit that sparks through hits like, "Paying The Cost To Be The Boss," "Since I Met You Baby," as well as some crucial covers like Willie Nelson's shot-and-a-beer night cap, "Nightlife," and J & J Belvin's soul sturrer, "Guess Who." The closing number "Peace To The World," showcases B.B. King and the band's cosmic wit, and is like an upbeat mix of The Impressions' "People Get Ready," and O'Jay's "Love Train." Pure transcendence. Throughout the show they combined forces that wielded their way through the man's six-plus decades long string of hits with reverence, and above all, a sense of mischievous fun that B. B. played off like a coy teenager. All this added a sense of spontaneity to the planned out performance that ignited their whole set! - Phil Rainone

Busting The Myth of The Clash

2008-04-23T16:54:00.001-07:00

The Clash - Tory Crimes And Other Tales (Sandbeach)

That the Clash survived as long as they did and, in fact, proved commercially viable in both the UK and US is a clear testament to the rugged integrity and a stubborn refusal to buckle despite enormous adversity, much of it self-induced. The Clash eventually fell apart, but it took better than seven years for the inevitable Joe Strummer- Mick Jones bust-up to finally occur. If any rock band ever insisted to doing it their way, the Clash takes first place honors, despite the price their nonconformity extracted. This two DVD set is split into two parts. The first DVD titled "The Punk Era" is told mainly from the point of view of the Clash's first drummer, Terry "Tory Crimes" Chimes, which adds a lot of insights and myth busting to the legend of the Clash. The archive footage shows a young band at some of their first gigs, the intensity of their fans, and the importance of how each interacted, and helped each other. The Clash were one of the few bands that walked the walk, and talked the talk when it came to supporting their fans by offering any of them a place to crash after a gig - more like a commune or extended family, which benefited both, as the punk movement grew to a "We're all in this together” brother and sisterhood, not only when they started out, but throughout their short-lived history.

Nonetheless, they became enormously popular, even in America, where their songs stood (and still stands) as redemptive proof that music, especially punk rock, can create a positive change. Disc two, which is titled "Bored With The USA," features anecdotes and recollections of band members, insiders like film director Don Letts, roadie Johnny Green, and an assortment of music critics and diehard fans.

The Clash received no small amount of criticism over the years, at times being damned for their musicianship by those who didn't have a clue as to what punk rock was about ( and didn't care to), or for absorbing musical styles such as reggae, ska, R&B, rockabilly, and so on. The two DVD set flips back and forth, showing both sides of the coin - with one group verbally attacking the Clash for injecting politics into their songs ("London Calling," "White Riot," and "I Fought The Law," which are prominently featured throughout the film), and others calling them sellouts. The pendulum swings dramatically in both directions, with society blaming the Clash for change, then blaming them for not changing, or branding them sellouts, or saints.

By the end of the film, when the dust settles, you come away with the opinion that through it all, the Clash constantly proved equal to the task of confounding anyone that ever doubted them, and influencing decades of future musicians. Offering contradictory, and at times flat-out humorous lies, in classic Bob Dylan you-never-know-what-to-expect-but-you-know-it's going-to-be-interesting fashion, the Clash, along with having made some of the most brilliant, absorbing, potent, and staggering rock 'n' roll of all time, also had a wicked sense of humor, especially toward those who never took the time (mostly music critics) to see where they were coming from. This documentary is proof that along with contemporaries like Elvis Costello, the Sex Pistols, and just about every band that injected punk rock into their veins, the original Clash never settled for complacency, and they made albums that were crucial to punk rock. - Phil Rainone

2008-04-23T16:30:00.000-07:00

Van Morrison- It's Too Late To Stop Now (Universal)

Recorded in London at The Rainbow Theater, and in California at The Santa Monica Civic Center and Troubadour in 1973, this two CD live set adds intimacy and full-blown blues/rock to these 19 gems, including a bonus track. Covering most of Van Morrison's "golden era," beginning with an brilliant, upbeat, cover of "Ain't Nothin' You Can Do," the album is a musical journey through decades of influential songs like Ray Charles' "I Believe To My Soul," Sonny Boy Williamson's "Help Me," and a rock 'n' soul version of Sam Cooke's heartfelt, "Bring It On Home To Me."

Morrison's first classic album was "Astral Weeks." On this live disc, Van and his band perform a mezmerizing version of "Cyprus Avenue" that eclipses the studio version in which Morrison seeks even more of an ecstatic experience through live music. "Domino" and "Caravan" were solid, early attempts at commercial success, and put in a live setting, are expanded jams that the studio versions pale in comparison to. The whole band adds more depth and breath to these songs, taking them from 'good' to 'great' versions.

With the level of hostility escalating in his native Belfast, Morrison moves backward toward a more personal style on "Saint Dominic's Preview." Along with that cut, the greatness of this band is memorialized on "Warm Love," "I've Been Working," and really, every song on "It's too late Too Stop Now." This 12 piece band, including horns, violins, guitars, bass, drums, and back-up singers, proved to be a farewell to Morrison's past stripped down bands, at least for a few years. This band held all the elements needed to take Van's music from quiet and soulful, to full-blown, horn-driven rock.

I wish there were more, but the singular bonus track, "Brown Eyed Girl" Van Morrison's first solo hit, is given a fresh feel with the use of horns and piano as lead instruments as compared to the use of guitar and bass on the studio version.

Two of Van Morrison's hits with the band Them, "Here Comes The Night" and "Gloria," are elevated to centerpieces of the show. The band takes the listener from the past to the present, weaving a fresh cadence into these musical war horses, exciting Van and the audience, with a sharp, call-and-response of
"G-L-O-R-I-A" from Van, and the exuberant crowd shouting back "GLORIA!" "Caravan" has to be one of my favorite songs of all time. In this live setting Morrison and the band make you believe that music can save the world - all we have to do is listen and react. - Phil Rainone

Can't Stop The Ska

2008-04-22T16:28:00.000-07:00

Goldfinger - Hello Destiny (Sideonedummy Records)

Goldfinger were - and still are - a major, groundbreaking punk/ska band. Hello Destiny is an album with high-speed songs filled with raunchy, gliding guitars, and equally aggressive sentiments. With John Feldman producing, they trounce the then-hard-to-challange first Goldfinger self-titled album back in 1995. Hello Destiny is jammed with traditional recording values and hi-quality sound which gives each song the feel of a hit single.

Unfailingly energetic and vital, the songs are packed with melodic punk rock verging on traditional ska, especially on tracks like "The Only One" and "Without Me." Other songs like "War," "Bury Me," or "How Do You Put Up With Me" prove that Goldfinger still has the roar 'n' roll with which they began. But one song is dead weird: "Handjobs For Jesus" is impressive, with traditional references to "the burning bush" and other Biblical images, and ponders the eternal question: "Love Thy Neighbor as thy self/ If I loved myself last night/ Does that mean that I need to jerk my neighbor off as well?" But the gist of the song is quite factual: Killing in the name of God is just wrong, and Goldfinger takes the listener to punk rock church. Amen, brother!

Hello Destiny has bite and character, a memorable album they will translate well in their live shows, I’m sure!- Phil Rainone

The Sweet Soul of Tupelo Honey Revisited

2008-04-17T18:39:00.000-07:00

Van Morrison - Tupelo Honey Reissue (Universal)

Few musicians have had a career quite as prolific as Van Morrison's. After five decades of work, the musical legend has humbly continued to shell out fresh material (check out his new album, "Keep It Simple"), after 35 albums worth of R&B, gospel, jazz, soul, and rock 'n' roll, to name a few genres that Van The Man and his remarkable bands have touched on over three decades plus, and he was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.This year they started reissuing Van Morrison's back catalog, adding a few extra live cuts, or outtakes, etc., along with a better quality sound. I don't think "Astral Weeks" or "Moon Dance" have had a face lift since they first started putting record albums out on compact disc in the 80's.
Although his sound has evolved over the years, Morrison's talent for writing and singing commercial hits remains steadfast. Opening with one of the catchiest, finger-poppin' tunes ever, "Wild Night" paints a musical picturescape featuring a buoyant, upbeat rhythm section, about street life, complete with colorful, nameless characters like, "...All the girls walk by dressed up for each other/ As the boys do the boogie-woogie on the corner of the street.../ And the inside jukebox roars out like thunder." At that point in his career, Van Morrison seemed more interested in surprising his audience ("Straight To Your Heart) Like A Cannon Ball," "Moonshine Whiskey"), and further exploring his long-standing obsessions: surviving the shocks of this lifetime, and rising gracefully to toward the future ("Starting A New Life").
"You're My Woman" is filled with longing, and deliverance, nicely setting up the centerpiece of this beautifully expressive album, the epic, "Tupelo Honey." Almost seven blissful minutes of hope, that rises from despair, intertwined with, what seems to be love at first sight. "You can't stop us on the road to freedom/ You can't keep us 'cos our eyes can see.../" She's as sweet as Tupelo honey/ Just like honey baby, from the bee," Van sings on the title track, with an angel on his shoulder. The two bonus tracks, "Wild Night" (the alternative take is less bass, more rhythm guitar and horns), and "Down By The Riverside" (Van and the band take you to church - make sure put a few dollars in the collection plate), are more than just an enticement to buy the album, they give you more of what the vibe of recording session was like. The possibilities that they were throwing around. "Tupelo Honey" is a simple, soulful collection of songs about the complexities of life, it's wonderful possibilities and choices we make.- Phil Rainone

A Classic Reissue from Van The Man

2008-04-16T16:23:00.000-07:00

Van Morrison - Wavelength (Reissue) (Universal)

Credited with playing sax, electric piano, acoustic guitar, acoustic rhythm guitar, vocals, and writing credit for every song except the lush, beautiful "Santa Fe" (which was written by Van and Jackie DeShannon,) Van Morrison took a very hands on approach to one of his most pop albums since Moon Dance. This reissue of the 1978 classic finds Van modernizing his bluesy, Celtic soul with some very stylish synthesizer, courtesy of Peter Bardens, and an ace back-up band.

I remember at the time of the release of Wavelength, they had broadcast one of his shows live on the radio, at the now defunct, and sorely missed 102.7 WNEW-FM. At the time, the DJ's were saying that Van Morrison wasn't performing any of his classic hits like "Moondance" or "Brown Eyed Girl." After hearing this album again in its entirety after quite a few years, it's easy to see why Van Morrison pretty much stuck to playing the majority of Wavelength on the road at the time. Morrison and the band were playing on his strengths as one of the
greatest R&B singers the world has ever known. Often using interesting synth and guitar textures, especially on the tilte cut, he guides the listener on a search for the source of art, rather than everything that surrounds it. There are no ho-hum secondary tracks, they get the pop music form down in ways they and we don't even realize at first. For example, "Wavelength" is almost sent into sheer recklessness on the studio sessions, and as one of the two live cuts included that were recorded at The Roxy in L.A. in '78, which I wish they would have included the whole show (they also include righteous rendition of "Kingdom Hall"). Using back-up singers as a template, this electric rocker explores relationships, and spiritual transcendence, and all the while you're boppin' to the big beat, and singing along with the catchy, "Do-do-doot-doot-doot-do's!"

At times throughout the album the band settles into a comfortable groove on stellar, elegantly sparse numbers like "Checkin' It Out," "Lifetimes" or "Hungry For Your Love." Van and the band take "Kingdom Hall" and "Take It Where You Find It" to church using a joyous, uplifting horn section ("Kingdom Hall"), and what seems to be a never-ending finish (the song lasts 8:40), with a beautiful, flourishing refrain, "I see my light, see my shinning light" ("Take It Where You Find It"). At the center of it all is Morrison's incomparable, expressive voice, angular works of guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion, and occasional but potent back-up singers.

In recent years Van Morrison has down played his status as a legendary performer ("What's Wrong With This Picture," "Don't Go To Nightclubs Anymore"). He protests on the latter soul searcher, "I'm not a legend in my own mind." Maybe not, but to the rest of us he's certainly a legend in our minds. - Phil Rainone

Any Night's A Good Night For The New Counting Crows

2008-04-15T15:47:00.001-07:00

Counting Crows - Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings (Interscope)

Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings is split up into two parts. The first six songs are heavy-duty rockers (Saturday nights are usually when you go out on the town an shake your tail feathers), and the last eight are quieter numbers (on Sunday mornings, you're usually a little bit more laid back, and maybe hungover - unless you didn't stop drinking, in which case you wouldn't get hungover.)

The Crows also made the CD look like a vinyl record, which is cool; but thank God they didn't put in any fake hisses or crackles that an older record might have. If you want, you can always hit "shuffle" and call it "Sunsaturday." (Yeah, I know, I have way too much time on my hands!)

With sharp pop hooks and slightly sad laments, this is a record about holding on to your soul amid delusions of celebrity, vanity, love, and life's curve balls that we get from time to time. The "Saturday Nights" side opens with bare-knuckles riffs ("1492,") which are way above average rock radio hits. The cheerily grim "Hanging Tree," the lost and lonely "Los Angeles," and fun-loving "Cowboys" round out the "A" side.

Most of the introspective "Sunday Mornings" set are little masterpieces of popcraft invitingly listenable and lovingly likeable. A twin-peaked effort that was produced by Gil Norton (the bender side), and Brian Deck (the hangover side), the Crows' first studio album in six years finds the band creatively reinvigorated with spiritual enthusiasm. - Phil Rainone

Van The Man Keeps It Simple

2008-04-14T16:33:00.001-07:00

Van Morrison - Keep It Simple (Exile/ Lost Highway)

Love, Hope, Faith, Loss, Forgiveness, Regret, Joy, Pain, Nature's Beauty, Struggle, Awakening Your Soul, I could go on. I guess what I'm trying to say is, over his musical career Van Morrison has touched on these, and so many more emotions in so many ways.On his latest album, "Keep It Simple" is not only the title but the mantra that Van humbly weaves throughout these 11 songs. In recent years and especially his recent brilliant masterpiece, "What's Wrong With This Picture," Morrison draws upon blues and jazz influences to explore not only his own faults, desires, hopes, and dreams, but ours also. I can't pinpoint exactly what it is exactly that enables him to create music of this stature, but on new songs like "School of Hard Knocks," and "Don't Go to Nightclubs Anymore," he can preach without being preachy, and self- reflective, cutting to the chase with deadly accuracy.

When it come to anthems forged of hope, happiness, and forgiveness, Van and his band can take a stance without having to cause an uproar. "Keep it Simple" is quietly aggressive, as the term "Opposites attract" aptly applies here. "That's Entertainment," which is when you connect with the music, is one of those songs like Van Morrison's "Evening in June." As soon as you hear it it helps to lighten your load, and open up your heart to possibilities. "School of Hard Knocks" has a Grateful Dead vibe, and a alt. country feel like "Working Man's Dead." The simple title tells you what the song is about, but Morrison's is prolific as ever. "I was educated by the school of hard knocks/ Tell me who's gonna patronize me now?/ They've brainwashed the suckers again and perpetuated the myth/ Propaganda far and wide..."

I was watching a show on TV the other day. It was about the first classical pianist (I forget his name) to play in Russia in the early 70's during the Cold War. He talked about the music he was playing, and how loving all the people were during his visit. He said that, a good musician or writer has to be able to take a piece of complicated music (Mozart, etc.), and make it sound simple. That's the feel I get from Van Morrison and the ace band he's assembled for "Keep It Simple." There's so much going on between the music and the lyrics yet, it very melodic, like a song that will stick in your head for days at a time.

On "Soul," Morrison gets as close to Ray Charles as humanly possible with rich emotion, depth, and beauty. "Soul is a feeling, a feeling deep within/ Soul is not the color of your skin." On the heels of a series of reissues from Van Morrison's catalog, this record starts fresh with what could well be a record of new classics.

- Phil Rainone

Re-Elect The Presidents Of The USA

2008-04-14T15:13:00.001-07:00

The Presidents of the United States of America - These Are Good Times People
(Fugitive/EMI)

Studied wackiness/ quirkiness hide solid cleverness behind what seems at first glance to be silly stories about gasoline-covered butterflies ("Truckstop Butterfly") or "Loose Balloons," just a few of the things that endear The Presidents of the United States of America to us. They're one of the few bands that stop to smell the roses from time to time. You know what I mean? Like, now and then on a sunny day, I like to watch the clouds float by. The POTUSOA like to write about that kind of stuff, and make the story interesting and cool. Think of Reel Big Fish, They Might Be Giants, or Offspring. Get The picture?

These are bands that bring out the silliness in us all, and can bang out tailfeather shakin, rockin' numbers! Oh Yeah, and let's not forget The B-52's who have been crankin' out monumental masterpieces of the silly stuff since the late 70's. Check out their new album (on Cd or vinyl), "Funplex." They're also going on tour! Thoroughly competent music is the base for all the tunes on "These Are The Good Times People." Taking a turn towards synth-funk, the brassy, horn-driven "Deleter," and the swingin' sway of "Flame is Love," are invigorating and engaging.

Brilliantly constructed songs that combine really catchy melodies and sometimes absurd lyrics in one wacky tour de force. Even though the album jitterbugs, bounces, and slides from start to finish, leaving listeners happily exhausted, the band still finds time to get serious ("Warhead," "More Bad Times"). They set the melodies up like the REM's seriously funny, apocalyptic "It's The End Of The World As We know It (And I Feel Fine.") The bottom line on These Are Good Times People is that The Presidents of the United States of America's wise-guy dance rock still works! - Phil Rainone

Boston ska-punk apostles deliver a juicy stash of rarities that beg the question, "B-sides? What B-sides?"

2008-04-02T19:40:00.001-07:00

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Medium Rare (Sideonedummy Records)

Spanning the years between their two last studio albums - 1997's Let's Face It and 2000's Pay Attention, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones mix B-sides and rarities on this disc, with three new tunes full of brass-punk noise that are worth the wait!

Opening with the timely "This List," which isn't just Bush-bashing but also a tribute to the men and women fighting in Afghanistan, and Iraq, this anti-war song could also be a reference to any wars in the past, present or future ("Everyone take a look/look at the lives this war has taken so far,") draped over a speedy ska beat. "Don't Worry Desmond Dekker" favors a lighter touch, as the Bosstones pay an affectionate tribute to Dekker, who stands alongside Lee Scratch Perry and Toots and the Maytals as one of the many originators of reggae, and ska.

"A Reason To Toast" leaves room for the whole band to open up and still have plenty of strong melodies, as Dickie and the boys anchor the upbeat rocker with shout-along chorus. As in the past, The Bosstones' have the ability to mix warm, inviting pop melodies with R&B, soul, and rough-edged ska and reggae, with nods to The Clash, The Specials and the early Two- Tone Records bands. As you listen to the whole album, you'll find a continuity and cadence that, like, say, The Beatles' Hey Jude (which was made up of the groups previous singles) represents what The Bosstones' are all about - good songs backed up by some of the finest musicians around.

Tight-blues beats are evident on The Bosstones' Christmas song that was part of a charity fund raiser a few years back called, "A Santa Cause." Truly The Bosstones' hearts were in the right place when they created this original skalicious holiday tune. It's like a heat wave inside a blizzard!

If there's a really hip advertising person out there, "Chocolate Pudding" is a natural to send Bill Cosby into retirement, as the band churns out smooth, three-part harmonies, all the while embracing all manner of musical silliness for humorous effect, singing about the virtues of the tasty treat! There's an enduring, good-natured, toe-tapping, spoonful in every groove! "Favorite Records" opens deservedly with a needle dropping on a somewhat scratchy record, as The Bosstones celebrate the virtues of vintage vinyl, and, as the fade-out goes, "I just love the sound/ as they round and round and round..."

Medium Rare's 13 songs are well oiled ska that are serious fun, featuring traditional ska values and no stylistic mucking about. The future is wide open for The Bosstones, and their special brand of rock steady twists. Skank on! - Phil Rainone

Move Over Reel Big Fish, That Best Little Dance Band From Athens, GA Is Back!

2008-03-31T16:12:00.000-07:00

The B-52's - FUNPLEX - Live at the Roxy, in LA Deluxe Edition (Astralwerks Records)

A little history on The B-52's: Back in the mid 70's when CBGB's was helping to pioneer the punk movement with band's like the Ramones, Patti Smith, etc. , along comes Athens, Georgia's B-52’s, with their distinctive, thrift-store kitschy 60's visuals (Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson sported bouffant wigs- "52's" in Southern regional slang - they now wear their hair long, without the wigs), 50's/60's B-movie themes, and stark, highly danceable songs like "Dance This Mess Around," "Party Out of Bounds," etc. Then they wrapped it all up with a thinking man's (and woman's) ecological/peace and love/political perspective. They also helped build the intersection between punk and new wave in the 80's. Really big hair, a blend of 50's rockabilly/surf tunes, with the own weirdly cool imaginative lyrics, sung by two sirens from Venus, a Jersey kid (frontman Fred Schneider is originally from NJ) with a unique vocal style, backed by a rhythm guitar that at times had a savage, off-beat sound, a funky, yet rock & roll rhythm section, and a keyboard pumping out eerie chords.

The B-52's wacky sense of humor helped to make their first self-titled album (they were on Sire Records, the same label as The Ramones) certified gold. Now a cult classic, the ever popular "Rock Lobster" became a staple (and still is) of DJ's whenever the need comes to take the "Party Out of Bounds!" The song’s surf/rockabilly cadence matched with the band's hilarious take on a wacky beach party was pure genius!

Besides Cindy & Kate, the band was comprised of Fred Schnieder- vocals, Keith Strickland- drums, and Ricky Wilson (Kate's brother), guitar. The new few years saw a slew of hit albums ("Wild Planet," "Mesopotamia," "Whammy!," "Bouncing Off the Satellites," Fred and Kate's side project, "Fred Schnieder & the Shake Society," and of course their mainstream breakthrough album, "Cosmic Thing",) all of which were chock full of the B-52's up-front comic relief, dance party anthems, and political satire (who can forget "Politi-crits" from the stop-the-world-I want-to-get-off themed, "Channel Z")!

Unfortunately, in 1985 Ricky Wilson passed away, as the band was working on "Bouncing Off The Satellites." Fortunately, Keith Strickland stepped out from behind the drum kit, and in a fine tribute to Ricky, got his rockabilly/surf, alternative guitar tunings together, as the band added a pick up drummer, helping to preserve The B-52's kitschy spirit, and passion for peace love and understanding.

After about 16 years, "Funplex" is set to help continue The B-52's fabulous rhythmic eccentricity, and carefree, zany mojo! I was thinking about who has been filling the gap of those last 16 years as a fun, party band with a cynical eye, and pretty much the only band that came to mind were those skalicious scallywags, Reel Big Fish! Hey, how about a tour with RBF and The B-52's! Thrown in a couple of other like-minded bands (They Might Be Giants, Aquabats), and after their sets all the bands get on stage together and some mind boggling covers? And, could call the tour "The New Summer of Love Tour." These are bands that have a "Work locally, think globally," (thank you Pete Seeger) attitude. Produced and mixed by Steve Osborne with the B-52's doing all the writing and arranging, they also added Sterling Campbell- drums, Paul Gordon- keyboards, and Tracy Wormworth- bass, on both the studio album, and live five song set from the Roxy. I was a little concerned that after such a long stretch that The B-52's could live up to what they've done in the past, still be relevant, and take the music further on up the road. Fortunately, Fred still possesses that uniquely fabulous Liberace-worthy voice, Cindy and Kate (especially on the live disc), prove once again, that according to John Lennon when he first heard the B-52' s album back in 1979, said to Yoko something to the effect that, 'The gals were paying tribute to your original, off-kilter vocal style.' The opening cut, "Pump," will turn the room that it's played in into party central! It has a vivacious and upbeat driving rhythm section propelled by Keith and Tracy on bass, and Zachary Alford on drums (Zac plays on most of the tracks on "Funplex," and was the drummer on "Cosmic Thing"). There's strange and wonderful lines in all their songs like, "Mama's barefootin'- and kahootin'... Rock me down to the jellybone!" Now, I have no clue as to what a "jellybone" is, but when I do find out, I'm gonna be out there on the dance floor at their show shakin' the b-jesus out of it!! From there on, the album begins to take on a life of its own, and there really isn't any comparison with other genres. "Funplex" is solid mix of alt. tunings and a very satisfying, and worthy mix of musical jambalaya!

The title tune "Funplex," leads off with a modern rockabilly/surf guitar lead in, that would sound great at Mardi Gras!. With references to 60's B-movies ("Faster, Pussycat, Faster!"), Mall Rats going to the "Taco Tiki Hut," muzak, and ATM's, it's a logical extension to the riotous "Channel Z," both of which cast a cynical eye toward all our new (unnecessary?) electronic toys… and there's also The B-52's special style of heartache weaved into the song. Both these songs, and the future shock of "Love in the Year 3000" portray a musical mastery of how our flawed, modern world works. "Ultraviolet" has a dose of hippie soul that is refreshing, and you can also shake your groove thing to it. Like the R&B grooved "Love Shack," The B-52's add a sprinkle of Martha Reeves & the Vandellas to their musical paint box throughout the album.

"Funplex" is the B-52's album we've all been waiting for! Like their legendary live shows, the five song live set recorded at The Roxy in LA (no date given, but the musicians include most of the current studio band),
is bouncy, driven, and upbeat. Hopefully, they'll put out another live album, and include some of the tunes
from "Funplex," which all sound like they're ready to be road tested.

"Party Out Of Bounds," "Channel Z," "Roam," "Strobe Light," and a monstrous, party icebreaker version of "Rock Lobster" are like a psychedelic musical barrage that will have you shakin' your butt like, "It's the end of the world as we know, it (and I feel fine)" - REM. These are definitive songs that have diverse, and unique stylings, that were created by some of the founders of a special musical genre, who were inspired by alternative lifestyles, elaborate thrift store wardrobe, a New World Order, and they didn't take themselves too seriously. The B-52's could easily sing about global warming, while at the same time doing some serious global rocking! Like it says in their press kit, "Loud sexy rock & roll with the beat pumped up to hot pink. Let's keep this party going on!" Hopefully The B-52's will be inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. - Phil Rainone

Dropping a big hammer and some teenage prayers

2008-03-26T15:26:00.000-07:00

Nine Pound Hammer - Sex, Drugs, and Bill Monroe (www.acetate.com)

This is not a pretty album. The vocals are coarse, and strained at times. The musicianship is rough, and sounds like sub-garage rock, mixed with cowpunk. Which combined, builds this into a very distinctive album! Nine Pound Hammer's spontaneity and primal screams (any song on "Sex, drugs, and Bill Monroe"), add up to stories that are tragicomedies like, "I'm Your Huckleberry," "Everybody's Drunk," or "Mama's Doin' Meth Again," that recount life long horrors, mixed with humor. A few of the songs like "Ain't Worth Killin," and "Cookin' the Corn," lurch in the direction of melody, with fairly straightforward lyrics, but there's always that ever-present freewheeling punk rock running through these 14 songs, and of coarse, a lot of bangin' and yellin'. And that's a good thing!

Nine Pound Hammer has an incisive sense of satire, wrapped around some intelligently ironic stories of trailer trash romance and misery."Sex, Drugs and Bill Monroe" is high on buoyant energy, and there's enough fuzz on the guitars to choke a lint screen. There's also a hard driving rhythm section that never stops pleasing! The production captures the live-and-loud sound with all of the band's nuance intact., that has the ability to give the songs a wallop, without knocking the pop stuffing out of them. - Phil Rainone

The Teenage Prayers - Everyone Thinks You're The Best (www.teenageprayers.com)

The Teenage Prayers make big, bouncy pop punk tunes with soul and funk overtones. Smothered in waves of brash vocals, this disc wails like demon. Possessing the same B-movie nerdy comedy of The Ben Folds Five, The Teenage Prayers rave on about sex, rejection, and various levels of good natured tragedy, all the while playing some tuneful pop punk. Actually, there's more bubblepunk than raw bashing, as "I'm in Love Again," and "123" sound like spoiled school kids on a rampage. But there's very catchy redemption in "No Sex," with it's sophomoric simplicity, and edgy guitar work.
"Good Voodoo" brings The Teenage Prayers back to their punk roots. Mindless fun with a few twisted guitar licks. This album has a carefree, back to basics vibe, and the results are soulful, funky, and punky. This is a trend-jumping disc! - Phil Rainone

The Only Surf/Punk Electric Kazoo Band That Matters!

2008-03-25T14:57:00.001-07:00

El Muchacho(www.vivaelmuchacho.com)

Not that there are that many Surf/Punk Electric Kazoo bands out there (I think El Muchacho has that genre pretty well covered, but feel free to start your own kazoo- based group), but the band certainly lives up to that title! And speaking of "Kazoo Bands," here's my idea. It's been scoffed at by the Jersey Beat crew, and even "pish-poshed" by Reel Big Fish. How about we put together an all-kazoo band, dress up like Punk Rock Pirates, head out with the Warped Tour and we play songs by the other bands on the Tour. C'mon now, how cool would that be!? Hey, if Me First & The Gimmie Gimmies can play covers, why not us? Just think how big we would be when The Warped Tour hits Japan later this year (I think we'd be "Big in Japan" as the saying goes) Alright, I got that outta my system, but dude, think about it!

I think El Muchacho would also fit well on the Warped Tour. Listening to their
music, they're the type of band that legends (actually cults), are made of. On their self-titled album, of about half covers and half originals, this disc is maximum surf/punk!!

But I digress, let's start with the cover art which is very cool! It's a sort of space ship with a souped up dragster engine for power, driven by a five-eyed, umm... ghoul, for a better word, orbiting around in outer space. It was created by Tom "Big Toe" Laura (www.bigtoeart.com), that gives a big nod to those 60's & 70's "Rat Fink" designs by Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. Nice to see "Big Daddy's' work is still influential these days! As for the music, 13 damn righteous surf/punk instro-mentals that will just... BLOW YOUR MIND!!

Opening with the brutishly heavy "It's a Gas," which is just so, Blue Cheer-worthy, Mikey Muchacho- bass, Jim "El Palo" Muchacho- drums/electric kazoo, and Mike Muchacho pound out a neanderthal-like cadence that grabs your attention right from the get-go.
A little about the electric kazoo, before we get too far. It's this, big-ass metal kazoo plugged into an amp (I first saw El Muchacho at one of Mike Grau's Christmas Dogs of War shows (he also helped out with this album), and Jim had this thing fastened to a harp holder, around his neck, while he played the drums. It was amazing and fun!

Covers like The Ramones' "Suzy is a Headbanger," "Third Star to the Left" by The Nocturnes, or "Incense & Peppermints" by The Strawberry Alarm Clock (I still have my original copy of The Alarm Clock's cool, psychedelic pop 45) are given a fresh coat of breathless electricity, yet they don't stray too far from the originals, as they're easy enough to recognize and sing along to, even though these are all instrumentals. And speaking of singing along, El Muchacho concocts a snarling, prehistoric version of Black Sabbath's "The Wizard" that will send you into headbanging nirvana!

On originals like "Trash Rider," "Speed Demon," or "Astronut," El Muchacho are not trying to recreate 60's surf rock ( although these tunes are Dick Dale/ Link Wray-worthy), or pre-psychedelia, but they do put a lot of thought and effort into fully capturing that era's mojo, and high spirits, bringing it to another level. Nobody else rocks quite like El Muchacho!

Ok, so you want further proof that this little ol' record rocks like hell? Take it to the beach this Summer (after all, this is surf/punk music), put out your beach chair, cooler, and your checker board beach towel (it comes with checkers). Then, pop this disc into your portable CD player and crank this puppy! The honey's should be hangin' with you but the time you get to the second song! - Phil Rainone

Picking Hits From The Vines

2008-03-24T16:10:00.000-07:00

The Vines - The Best Of (Capitol Records)

This "Best Of" collection spans The Vines' three studio releases between 2002 and 2006. Although that's a pretty slim discography for a "Best Of," the adrenaline rush that you'll get from these 16 songs (there are no ballads) will make your hair stand on end!

On songs like "Get Free, "Factory," or "Sun Child," the band's garage-rock and punk influences overlap each other. Although they’re similar forms of music, what makes them so good is The Vines manic mojo that's applied to each and every song. You can feel the attitude, and you know the band's headspace is in just the right place. There's a commonality of energy and attitude within the genres that separates The Vines from a lot of the hit and miss bands that only care about the bottom line- money.

The album plays in chronological order, and it's easy to see the growth and development the band has gone through in four short years. They even infuse some glam rock in tunes like "Animal Machine," and "Homesick." The Vines play music that makes you feel like, forget what the song's about and just dig the vibe, the slash, and the crush of the song. Like Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, they should have called the album "Great Hits," because you just know from listening to the last two songs, "Anysound," and "Sun Child" that there's plenty more tough, garage punk where this came from! Rumor has it that the Vines have completed a fourth album and although they've left Capitol, it might be released (in Australia at least) this summer. - Phil Rainone

A Loving Tribute To Dusty, Well Done

2008-03-20T14:28:00.000-07:00

Shelby Lynne - Just a Little Lovin' (Losthighwayrecords.com)

Inspired by the Dusty Springfield songbook, these 10 songs pay tribute to Dusty's amazing vocal prowess and soulful heart. It's nearly impossible to top the originals, that were considered AM-Gold back in the 70's, but Shelby's take on songs like "Just a Little Lovin," "Anyone Who Had a Heart," etc., are given a more delicate, low key treatment, proving that Shelby's more than up to the challenge.

Starting back in '05 with a call from Barry Manilow, who's a huge Dusty Springfield fan, the seed was planted. Two years later, with help from producer Phil Ramone and a handful of ace musicians, they fleshed out new, sparse arrangements (the cover of The Rascals' "How Can I be Sure" is just... beautiful. They turn it into an even deeper song about uncertainty of love and life.) Shelby's versions find the heart and soul of each song. The a cappella opening of "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" is simply stunning, which leads to an acoustic vibe that is subliminally biting.

These pop songs evoke country curves that both Dusty and Shelby have in common. Shelby Lynne, along with Phil Ramone and the band, have created a dusky gem of an album. It's flawless and fun! - Phil Rainone

Mullins serves up bittersweet blues

2008-03-13T15:14:00.000-07:00

Shawn Mullins - Honeydew (Vanguard Records)

Singer songwriter Shawn Mullins conjures up stories of his own experiences ("All in My Head," "Home," "Leaving All Your Troubles Behind"), and the world around him ("See That Train," "Cabbagetown," "For America"), that engage the listener on a deeper level.

It's a reflective journey that restores Shawn to his coffee house roots, and also into some full-throttle rockin' blues numbers. Mullins has pulled off the unlikely - using some of the quiet frenzy that marked some of his earlier music, while using more of the intensity that characterized that seminal work. But make no mistake, this is not the work of some mewing acoustic folkie. Shawn is at times a mature electric rocker who has seen enough to know what he's talking about. His melodic gifts are full of meaningful lyrics, often about relationships, and the world around us, whether is locally or globally, that hit you where you live. In "Fraction of a Man," Mullins takes the listener to Cave Creek, Arizona (my friend Doreen lives there - nice cowinkidink), where he sees his "Old friend Harry" selling his soul piece by piece, at various stages of his life.

These are songs that will not lose their resonance any time soon. - Phil Rainone

Gorilla My Dreams

2008-03-11T16:04:00.000-07:00

The Gas House Gorillas - Five Gorillas Walk Into a Bar... (Gashousegorillas.org)

Yeah! The Gorillas are back!

I caught these guys last year at The Red Bank Blues & Jazz Fest, and they were... AMAZING! They took a sedate crowd and brought them to a fever pitch, especially when bassist Crusher Carmean jumped off the stage with a this big-ass, stand-up bass, running through the crowd, up a steep hill, and back up on stage - never missing a beat! I felt like I was back at The Leopard Lounge (at Club Bene in Sayreville), with all those cool retro-swing bands that promoter, DJ, and all-around cool cat Lenny Lounge (and let's not forget his main squeeze Kit Kat), put on.

The new CD opens with "All She Wants to do is Rock," which sounds like a jilted boyfriend’s lament, but it actually turns into a swinging, rocked-out dance number. Don't look to deep for political, or over-emotional songs. The Gashouse Gorillas are only here to get you out on the dance floor and shake your tail feathers - and that's a good thing!

"Kidney Stew" is flat-out New Orleans blues with The Gorillas’ special mojo. Rick Fink- vocals, Crusher- bass, Hiro Suzuki- guitar, Tim Veeder- sax, and Dan Hickey- drums, are the ligament heirs of the retro-swing genre, that are not only are keeping it alive, but bringing it to the next level. Big Band, Bop,
Swing, Rockabilly, and even Punk Rock are the foundation of bands like The Gashouse Gorillas, Cherry Poppin' Daddys, Brian Setzer, etc. On tunes like "Last to Know," or "Nobody's Fool," "Three Words," and "Stay," the band does get a bit sentimental, taking you to the submarine races, but they wisely keep away from any type of self-pity in favor of ain't-nothin'-gonna-keep-me-down, upbeat vibe, like Dion & The Belmont's "The Wanderer."

The closing number, "Burglar in the House of Love," is barrel-house rock and roll! An all-out rocker that leaves you wanting more! And to get more, you gotta see The Gas House Gorillas live! Check their website, you won't be disappointed! - Phil Rainone

More Spunk From Simple Plan

2008-03-05T18:38:00.001-08:00

Simple Plan (Lava/Atlantic)

With their refurbished hooky, pop punk sound, Simple Plan prove they are Warped Tour-worthy once again. Even songs that are not just about the usual crushes and heartbreaks, and radio-friendly smashes, the band adds more spunk to their sound, recruiting the production talents of Nate "Danjahandz" Hills, and DJ
Lethal.

Subliminal block-rockin' beats are the underpinning of most of these songs, but, these are not dead-eyed stares. They're actually upbeat with an enormous punk rock dinosaur sound that dominates the album. There's no need to do the math, everything is in black and white, no shades of gray, just solid pop punk. Songs like "When I'm Gone" or "Save You" are deliberately abrasive in the lyrics, and that's a good thing. Simple Plan are throwing down the gauntlet. They're drawing a line in the sand. You're not going to hear sweet ear candy just for the sake of trying to make a hit. These songs hit you with an unexpected force. They turn the guitars way up for "Generation" which has tones of elegant despair.

The rock-slide rhythm section is fast and thick, and the stammering guitar riffs will almost send you into the kind of seizures that are lethal throughout most of the album. There's a great leap in the song writing - a little closer to alternative rock, with melodic drama, which has a pull-and release effect that draws you into the whole album.

The bands emotions sound fresh, not forced, which sometimes happens a few records down the road (this is Simple Plans third studio album), for a lot of bands. "What If" has reverberations of vintage stock pop punk. The mix of chunks of Blink 182's scacastic, tongue-in-cheek story telling, with flying pieces of riff shrapnal falling all over the place, as harmonious guitars, and dense keyboard help get the song past the any type of "formula," giving the song some tough traction. There are a lot of songs out there that you have to wait and see if they'll come back to you, if they pop into your cranium without effort.- Simple Plan has put out an album that doesn't play by the rlues. With some dedicated air play, these songs are going to be ingrained in your membrain. - Phil Rainone

You Can Still Get Your Kicks On Route 66

2008-02-25T17:12:00.001-08:00

Route 66 Season One/ Volume Two (Infinity-entertainmentgroup.com)

As a kid, I remember watching Route 66, and wondering where Route 66 was. I also remember listening to the song, "Route 66" first by Nat King Cole (who does a groovy, swank version), and later by Depeche Mode( great synth/rock), but it wasn't until hearing Springsteen's "Darkness on the Edge of Town” (seems Bruce did some traveling by car, going cross country to California, and at times using the legendary road for inspiration, and writing songs like "The Promised Land," and the title track, among others), that I really got a feel for the depth and adventure of what Route 66 was about.

On Volume Two, the drifters (for a better word), Martin Milner and George Maharis, find a new adventure on every episode (there are 15 episodes, almost an hour each, plus special features), that were shot on location. Tod Stiles (Milner) and Buz Murdock (Maharis) whipped around the countryside in a powder-blue 1960 Corvette. As their paths cross, Tod and Buz hit the open road (via Route 66) to see America and possibly find themselves in the process.

Watching Route 66 as an adult, I still find it interesting in that you get snapshots of a bygone era, like digging up a time capsule. The stories are a cross-section of people and places ranging from the local law, a deranged killer, an Indian girl, trucking tycoons, and of course, some of the hottest women of the day, including Suzanne Pleshette, and Julie Newmar (who went on to play Catwoman on The Batman TV series). A young William Shatner and Robert Redford make appearances, just before they broke out big-time in Star Trek and Butch Casidy & The Sundance Kid, respectively.

Route 66 is a lot of fun either reminiscing, or if your seeing it for the first time! Besides Volume Three, they're also in the process on making the TV series into a major motion picture possibly this year. Route 66 originally stretched from Chicago to Santa Monica, Calif. For the last few years I've been threatening to take a road trip with a few of the Jersey Beat crew (my son Steve, and our friends and fellow journalist Frank and his son Tim), inspired by the TV movie to follow the Warped Tour from California to Jersey, and hit the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, visit our friends Gary & Luanne in St. Louis, and Doreen in Arizona... All we need is a powder-blue convertible and money for gas! - Phil Rainone

Roxy Music - The Thrill of it All - 2 DVD set (EMI)

Roxy Music (including Brian Eno and Bryan Ferry) were originally pigeonholed as "New Romantics" back in the early 70's. With 38 videos, and about a dozen albums spanning ten years between 1972 and 1982, they proved to be a lot more musically and visually than had been thought. I remember buying the 45 single for "Love is the Drug," and besides the upbeat, soulful melody, I pictured what the song might be about, as Ferry and the rest of Roxy Music took me on a joyride of sound and vision for the next 3 minutes plus.

Comparisons to Bowie at the time were backhanded compliments, as Roxy Music were into what they were creating, rather than just a passing fad. Divided into two DVD's (disc one covers '72 to '76, and disc two covers '79 to '82), there's a mix of live shows, and promotional videos (what would come to be called
performance art years later). Roxy Music are as relevant now as they were back when they first started. Videos like "Both Ends Burning," "Do the Strand," and "Virginia Plain," bridged the gap between rock, R&B, soul, new wave, jazz, and just about every genre you could imagine. A lot of today’s bands are indebted to
Roxy Music and the fertile musical ground they broke, both with sight and sound. Bryan Ferry makes a masterpiece out of John Lennon's "Jealous Guy," with a journeyman's take on reconciliation - amazing!

- Phil Rainone

Surf's Up

2008-02-14T16:11:00.001-08:00

Jack Johnson - Sleep Through the Static (Brush Fire/Universal)

I remember reading about Jack Johnson a few years back in Rolling Stone as an "up and coming artist." The story really perked my interest, as they compared Jack's music to Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys, and surf music in general. When I got his first album Brushfire Fairytales, which still remains one of my favorites, I was disappointed. I was excepting Dick Dale-worhty epic surf rock instrumentals, and Beach Boys' harmonized stories of chasing "that girl boppin' down the beach with the radio..." Well, that's really Springsteen, but you get the picture. So, it took me a while but I realized that the review in Rolling Stone was alluring more to the Pet Sounds era that Brian had so lushly, and beautifully created with the Beach Boys and their crew.

And with Pet Sounds as a temple of sorts, Sleep Through the Static is one of Jack's most lyrical, reflective collections of elusive lovers, man's arrogance, and mortality, which makes for a darker album by his standards, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Some of the best moments, and there's a lot of them, start with the opening cut, "All At Once." Johnson's voice barely breaks the surface, but he creates a mild intensity, with strong lyrical prowess that grabs, than holds your attention.

The gentle, rolling rhythms of his music match his simple, natural-spirited lyrics. Over the course of three albums, plus the bulk of the children's album "Curious George," Jack's laid-back world view has been enough to make him an unlikely pop sensation.

Besides the usual bass/guitar/drums formula they added keyboard player Zach Gill for a wider range of sounds and textures. It's not as a radical departure as was told, as advance stories filtered out before his release, but Jack did shake up his formula a bit.

In the end, Johnson is at his best when he's stripped down, like the simple, aching love song "Angel," or the sweetly swaying medative, "Go On." These songs are little more than sketches, but they're completely realized, with a focused sound that is specific to the lyrics. Hopefully he'll push himself a little further next time.

- Phil Rainone

Texas Radio & The Big Beat

2008-01-28T15:24:00.000-08:00

Doyle Bramhall - Is It News (Yeproc.com)

Doyle Bramhall has packed a lifetime (personally and musically) into these 12 original songs.

"Lost in the Congo" kicks off the album with one of the biggest, fattest, beats that a rhythm section (Bramhall - vocals, drums, and Scott Nelson- bass) could conjure up this side of Bo Diddley. The rest of the band features Denny Freeman- guitar, Mike Keller- tremelo slide guitar, C C Addcock- rhythm guitar (he also co-produced the album with Doyle, ) Jimmy Mac- accordion, and Mato Nanji- ghost guitar solo. Also, Bramhall's son Doyle II and Jimmy Vaughn add their special guitar mojo throughout the record. At times they lock into a deadly, swamp rock, serpentine cadence, as the album hits the ground running right from the get-go!

"Chateau Strutt," originally recorded at a soundcheck back in 1974 with Stevie Ray Vaughn and Billy Etheridge at Club Chateau in East Texas, is a molten instrumental (featuring The Strutts: Georgia Bramhall & Tina Vaughn peppering "Chateau Strutt" around in the song, in French). Also, "Cryin" which was written in 2005 in New Orleans post-Katrina, is a flat-out, smoldering, Fats Domino-worthy mid-tempo heartbreaker.

Is It News sounds more like a lifetime Best Of collection of personal memories filtered through some of the coolest rock & roll, soulful blues, and R&B, revealing heartfelt longing, regret, and happiness that are emotionally wired to each song, rather than just an album of songs lumped together.

Newer songs include "Big," which just... flat-out... ROCKS! You're gonna need about three listens to this tune just to get past the big, twangy, rockabilly vibe, to get into the lyrics, which are about... Hey, I don't know, I still haven't gotten past those nasty, catchy, pummeling guitar grooves, this number will absolutely blow your mind!

"I'll Take You Away" is a love song, but it draws its strength from two hearts beating as one. Doyle makes no unrealistic promises, just what he's feeling in his heart.

Written on August 27, 1990 in his room after hearing that Stevie Ray Vaughn had died in a helicopter crash, "That Day" is as much a healing song as it is sentimental, a loving tribute to a good friend, and gifted musician. "Little Star (The Moon is Shining)" rivals "Life by the Drop" (which appeared on Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble's "Sky is Crying" album), and Doyle & Stevie co-wrote both songs. They each have this earthy feel - not preachy, but reflective and full of hope, underlined with past despair and the unknown.

Doyle and his band are set to tour soon so check yeproc.com for tour dates. You won't be disappointed.

- Phil Rainone

13 Love Songs From Another Time

2008-01-23T17:48:00.000-08:00

Robert Plant/ Alison Krauss - Raising Sand (www.rounder.com)

These are powerfully simple songs that steer a course between Krauss's world of bluegrass and Plant's eclectic love of rock & roll. T Bone Burnett's production and guitar work guides a band that seems to slide easily into almost any musical genre. This album of 13 songs is almost too straightforward for these times. They're bone-simple, and the lyrics, like on "Please Read the Letter," come off like snapshots of being lovelorn and aching. The music is slightly twangy, and unapologetically old-fashioned, but Alison and Robert steer an original course, using their unique crooning and warble respectively. Like finely tuned instrument, at times they sound like they've never heard anything sadder than these songs, all of which are covers. On songs like "Killing the Blues," "Polly Comes Home," and "Trampled Rose," they burrow deep into singer-songwriter purgatory, giving the listener a one-on-one feel, like they're alone with you in you living room, with little more than a guitar. "Fortune Teller" is an old 60's R&B number (The Who and Stones did cool covers) that would sound at home on a Robert Plant & The Strange Sensations album. It twists and turns with a cosmic blues vibe, with Alison adding subversive wails that ignites the song, ending with a wicked instrumental cadence. They both sing with conviction and quiet lust, especially on "Stick With Me Baby." The more I listen to Raising Sand, Plant & Krauss sound more like a intertwining lyrical kiss than a duet. What I also find interesting is how they can make a blistering song while stitching in tiny details of ordinary life like on, "Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson." T Bone uses sparse, extremely lean arrangements, that are both powerful yet torn, riviting yet spacious. This is an album you can easily get lost in, taking you far away from the here and now. No matter how well you think you know either artist, you're going to find a few raw surprises all over the place, which makes this an amazingly fun, and fascinating album. Alison and Robert explore each others genre's, creating new boundries that are rootsy, and organic with a pop sense of earthly slices of life with soulful intimacy. Krauss's has a clear-glass (sometimes) whispery voice, that balances Plant's slow-burning vocals. Hopefully a tour is in the works. - Phil Rainone

NJ Reggae Carries on Music's Roots

2008-01-16T18:46:00.002-08:00

PREDATOR DUB ASSASSINS - The Hardest (www.stubbornrecords.com)

Despite their name, and song titles like "Downtown Killa," or "The Emperor Strikes Back," NJ's own Predator Dub Assassins also write songs about love, devotion, and hope ("We Pray," "Try," and "Love Song.") It's an interesting mix of emotions, adding images of oppression, paranoia, and despair, respectively. Songs such as "Sufferaton" and "Prophets and Revolutionaries" are offered by The Dub Assassins with dire urgency, and a brutal vision of the world, whose lyrics could work in the past or present. It's been over thirty years since Bob Marley and The Wailers released their masterpiece, "Rastaman Vibration," and on "The Hardest" the message of Marley and his contemporaries has not lost its sting. Anyone with even passing interest in reggae and dub owes it to themselves to check out The Dub Assassins. But make no mistake, this not a nostalgia or retro band. When they play a song
like "Air Force One" or "Son's of Negus," you will listen, react, and think in the present. - Phil Rainone

THE SOUL MERCHANTS - ...If You Like Music (www.stubbornrecords.com)

...If You Like Music is crazy tight (yeah, I know I'm out of my league here as far as language, but yeah, this disc is crazy tight, no other way around it). I mean, The Soul Merchants don't miss a beat, they make you wanna get off your ass and dance, I'll say it again - it's crazy tight! "Smoke 'Em if You Got 'Em" is like a stoney-eyed bang up, a secondhand contact high that permeates thoughout the song and the entire record, as a matter of fact. On songs like "Charter Oak Bridge" and "Here I Go Again" they keep it simple and grounded, like an intense coffee house set, as The Soul Merchants weave a lot of positive vibrations into these 18 songs. "Every Time" has a skanky, fuzzy feel that is spirited, and sanctified. This is a complete album of music, lyrics and momentum. Buy it, play it, love it! - Phil Rainone

Ringo For President!

2008-01-16T18:46:00.001-08:00

RINGO STARR - Liverpool 8 (Capitol)

Running on the "Peace & Love" platform (hey, Ringo is a lot more clear on his stance than all the Democrats and Republicans running for president), I'll bet Ringo will get a percentage of votes in this year’s election - hey, imagine if he won!. And I'm sure he'll get a gazillion votes for his new album, Liverpool 8!

Opening with the title track, it's a heartfelt, mid-tempo rocker that's a sort of abridged autobiography in which Ringo sings about his teen years in the local merchant navy, joining Rory Storm's band in 1959, The Beatles’ barnstorming shows in Hamburg, and playing Shea Stadium at the height of Beatlemania. It's a great tune, and if he tours, I think the upbeat tune will turn into a huge singalong number, with its ending chorus of "LIVERPOOL!" with Ringo coaxing the crowd.

Starr also pays tribute to his friend Harry Nilsson on "Harry's Song," which is sentimentally sweet and sadly funny at times. Starr's message of peace and love abounds on the album (there are four songs with "Love" in the title that give off some good karma, balancing ome of the
deeper blues numbers.) The music is co-produced by Dave Stewart, Mark Hudson, and Starr. They bring out Ringo's best, and add a freshness to the twelve songs on Liverpool 8. Ringo co-wrote all twelve songs, which show a reflective side, and at times are amped-up, giving the whole album a feeling that it could be played in it's entirety live.

Hopefully Ringo will tour this year, spreading his message of "Peace and Love" throughout the world. I wonder who he'll pick for Vice-President... - Phil Rainone

Two Tributes That Flatter Their Subjects

2008-01-10T16:10:00.001-08:00

Cinnamon Girl: Women Artists Cover Neil Young For Charity (www.alr-music.com)

Cinnamon Girl features 21 new cover versions of Neil Young songs by Tanya Donelly, Britta Phillips, Lori McKenna, Jill Sobule with John Doe, Josie Cotton, Kristin Hersh, The Watson Twins, and many more. The double-CD focuses on Young's early work (1969-1979) and all the proceeds are donated to Casting For Recovery (www.castingforrecovery.org), a national nonprofit support and educational program for women who have or have had breast cancer.

The captured results on "Cinnamon Girl" are not merely nostalgic, or carbon copies. Even with the weight of so much history, there's a spontaneity to these renditions on songs like "Cinnamon Girl" by Euro-Trash Girl that leads off the second disc) in which they nail Young's original, adding a shimmering sonic vibe that was made for listeners, and not for Neil Young fanatic to pick apart.

Tanya Donnelly ("Heart of Gold"), Britta Phillips ("I Am A Child"), Veruca Salt ("Burned"), and others shed a warm, loving light on these beloved classics, fleshing out more magic and buzz; you can feel the honesty coming out in their tributes. On "Ohio," Dala adds "Find The Cost of Freedom" in the middle of her heartfelt rendition, but it's hard to try to match the original by CSNY, with their four-part wailing harmonies, that are at once full of mourning and disgust. Like Neil Young, these artists find the balance that they've been searching for: a vision of a ravaged America redeemed by the generosity of its best intensions.

With a voice that aches with a yearning toward lost youth, Louise Post burrows deeper into Neil's singer-songwriter mixed bag with a sad, aged yearning on "Sugar Mountain." Jill Sobule and John Doe duet on "Down by the River," which features a throaty guitar in the middle, with Jill & John harmonizing that has an effect that is at once jarring, and warming. The song is built on Young's original strengths, no turning from them.

Lori McKenna pulls "The Needle and the Damage Done' out of purgatory, rivaling Springsteen's "Johnny Bye Bye." Both tunes come to the same conclusion: "A whole bunch of nothin' running through your veins."

Coolest Song in the World (This Week Josie Cotton ("Johnny Are You Queer") covers "Cowgirl in the Sand." It's a brilliant piece of vocal prowess, as Josie finds the songs emotional center, that features her passionate, and assured voice. The song gives her a chance to break out of her infamous, Betty-Boop-on-helium mold. It's breathtakingly genuine. Hopefully we'll hear more from her in the near future.

Joe Spadaro, founder & president of American Laundromat Records dedicated this project to his mom Norine, who passed in 2005, after a six-year battle with breast cancer. I think his daughters, Jenna 8, and Maggie 5, sum up best what this project is about when they said they wanted to, "Tie this CD to a balloon
and send it up to heaven for grandma." To quote Bob Marley, "Light up the darkness." - Phil Rainone

Dig For Fire - A Tribute to The Pixies (www.alr-music.com)

Back in the late 80's when alt-rock was called "college rock," the Pixies loomed large, like a bizarre crossbreeding of pop sensibilities, art rock, and some of the nastiest guitar riffs around. The elements of their sound were both fierce and weird - Black Francis' shrieking vocals, guitarist Joey Santiago's piercing leads, bassist Kim Deal's predatory bass lines, and drummer David Lovering's unforgiving beats, that were at times barely discernible but still added to something unprecedented and inexplicable. Their influence was far-reaching, as this compilation proves. Fans included everyone from Kurt Cobain to They Might Be Giants (TMBG contribute "Havalina," in which they fuse pop and noise with their own special TMBG vibe of equal parts of the ordinary and the unknown.) The Pixies were ahead of their time. Even today, against a backdrop of rap rock and new metal, the frenzied riffs on "Monkey Gone to Heaven" (one of my son Steve's
favorite songs of all time), done here by Elk City, still sounds really fresh, as the equilibrium isn't nudged too much. "Here Comes Your Man" screams, lurches, and lives up to its title, while the prowling "Ana" by Morning Theft resembles a recording of some sort of basement tape just waiting to be released. There are twenty songs on "Dig For Fire," including five extra tracks. This extraordinary tribute comes off as a sketch of an unvarnished, restless band, coolly bashing out its world-domination plan, standing on the verge of getting famously infamous. - Phil Rainone

Absolute Punk Rock N Roll!

2008-01-02T11:21:00.000-08:00

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - Fit To Be Tied - Great Hits By Joan Jett & The Blackhearts / Flashback Reissues (www.Blackheart.com)

These two albums (sold separately) are the glorious result of a lifetime devoted to the pursuit of the perfect three-chord, black leather-clad, punk/rock & roll record!

Great Hits, aptly named because you just know that there are more "Hits" to come, serves as textbook and gold mine. For long time fans, the upgrade in sound quality is superb, but they don't reshape or remix any of the songs, which is a good thing. Great Hits is the flagship of The Blackhearts back catalog, while Flashback is filled with B-sides, rarities, and unreleased live songs, which serves well as a companion to the Great Hits album, shoring it up like mortar in a solid brick wall.

The remastering of songs like "Bad Reputation" from The Blackhearts' first album has a fuller sound (I wish they would have reissued these on vinyl) and punchier feel, including tighter bass, and more details on the guitars. Limited by the decade's technology of first generation compact discs, songs like the Springsteen-penned "Light of Day" and Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lover's originally off-kilter subdued rocker "Road Runner" gain in presence and stature, without sacrificing the original musical mojo of the songs. Every song on Great Hits is like a centerpiece- it's like finding gold in a silver mine! On Flashback, they added a live version of "Bad Reputation" from '81 that, when played at maximum volume, will make you swear The Blackhearts' are on stage dripping sweat on the crowd! While were talking about live cuts they should put out a live album and DVD of The Blackhearts. There's an official DVD out there from the Eighties, but to see the Blackhearts' in recent times is just unreal. We (my son Steve, Tim & Frank) saw them a couple of years ago, and they were AMAZING!! To see and feel a live band like The Blackhearts, especially doing a song like The Stooges' "I Wanna be Your Dog" - Joan was TELLING us, not ASKING - raised the hair on my neck. Steve, Frank and Tim said it was one of the best shows they've ever seen! Thommy Price's drumming is all punk attitude (all the good stuff) and awesome power-pop precision, bashing his way through stories of teenage overdrive, driven by one of the tightest bands around, featuring Joan's one-of-a-kind vocals. The only bands that I've seen play with as much intensity, swagger and otherworldly soul, taking you with them musically and emotionally, were Springsteen & the E-Street Band and Social Distortion.

I could go on, but I think I'll wait until an official live album hopefully comes out in the future. What these two essential albums (along with their catalog) represent are that Joan Jett and the Blackhearts helped invent modern punk rock, and here's the
proof!

Closing comment: The Blackhearts' remake of the 1910 Fruitgum Company's bubblegum smash "Indian Giver" rivals the Ramones' cover, both are over-the-top cool! Both bands had on eye on their roots and the other toward the future, and when both worlds collided, the vibe was, and still is, amazing!

- Phil Rainone

Joan Jett (Still) Loves Rock N Roll... And Rock N Roll Loves Her Back!

2007-12-28T08:03:00.001-08:00

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - I Love Rock N' Roll (www.Blackheart.com)

Originally released in '83, I Love Rock N' Roll made a giant leap from The Blackhearts' first album, Bad Reputation, into the mainstream without leaving the band's history behind. From start to finish the album is finely honed with pop punk craftsmanship that still sounds as fresh and as dangerous as when it was released.

Opening with the anthemic, ultimate sing along, "I Love Rock 'N Roll," the band (featuring Joan Jett-vocals/ guitar; Lee Crystal-drums; Gary Ryan-bass/vocals; and Ricky Byrd-guitar/ vocals) made sharp, tuneful songs filled with maximum hooks-per-groove, that helped set the stage for future bands.

Produced by Kenny laguna and Richie Cordell, the brilliant harmonies and ringing guitars along with a rock solid rhythm section are featured on song after song - almost every track could have been a single. Pure pop punk with clever lyrics and winning melodies even when they dipped into covers like Tommy James & The Shondells' "Crimsom and Clover," or The Dave Clark 5's "Bits and Pieces." They were done in earnest without the typical cloning just to capitalize on a past hit that many bands do, sometimes with terrible results. The cool cover of "Little Drummer Boy" finds The Blackhearts' playing simple, basic, rock n' roll but with a fresh, eye-opening version of a decades-old Christmas classic.

A lot of times when bands reissue their records it's more or less the full album and maybe an extra song or two that is usually billed as "rare," but not necessarily memorable. Like the rest of The Blackhearts' reissues they really went out of their way to make a great album even better. Besides outtakes like the rocker "Oh Woe is Me," and a live version of "You Don't Know What You've Got," the covers of "Louie Louie," and "Summertime Blues" are Ramones-worthy, as they're tattooed with the Blackhearts' own original style, while still paying tribute to some of the band's major influences. And speaking of covers, there's a who-would-have-thought-it-possible rendition of "Nag" featuring The Coasters (50's R&B group) that gives the song an nice dose of The Coasters' trademark comedy and R&B groove. But it doesn't end there! They also included a video (use your computer) of "I Love Rock N' Roll" live at The Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ from '83, "Victim Of Circumstance" from '83 in Houston, Texas and The Blackhearts' tour of Panama in '84.

With the reissue of "I Love Rock N' Roll," and the rest of The Blackhearts' catalog, you get a great overview of the recording sessions, and also what some of the songs sounded like pretty much fresh out of the box! - Phil Rainone

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - Album/ Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth (www.Blackheart.com)

These reissues of Album and Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth (a 2 CD set) contain a certain nostalgia factor obviously, but there are not many bands, especially of the punk rock genre, that can look back as much as they look forward on their music, like the Blackhearts can.

Actually, it's more historic than nostalgic, as the lead off track "Fake Friends" (from Album) jumpstarts the record with a fierce yelp which underscores The Blackhearts' distinctive guitar-driven punk rock snarl.

An ambitious album, they add a horn section to "Secret Love" that propels the song into uncharted (cool) territories, as "French Song," with its part English/part French lyrics, rivals Plastic Bertrand ("Se Plane Pour Moi," and The Beatles' German version of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" for sheer we-don't-know-what-you're-saying-but-it-sounds-cool vibe. The Blackhearts' reinvigorate The Runaways' "I Love Playin' With Fire" with the band's own evident mojo, into a punk rock anthem. They turn The Stones' "Star, Star," which is an ode to super stardom, into a ridiculously impressive cover that is even cruder than the original (it is SO cool)!

Bonus tracks include a dance mix (the cover of Sly and the Family Stones' "Everyday People" that rivals The Blackhearts' version, but with Kenny Laguna and Thom Panuzio's imprint all over it, you'll want to get out on the dance floor to shake your tail feathers!) They also cover another Runaways' tune, "Wait For Me," that expands on the original's rock reference points, than adds the Blackhearts punk rock vibe - it's the best of both worlds! "Who Can You Trust," "Scratch My Back," and "Locked Groove" (all originals)finish up the outtakes with a flourish of pop punk, leaving you wondering why these gems weren't on the originals. The bonus video footage from The Capitol Theatre in Passaic ("Coney Island Whitefish") and The Summit in Houston, Tx. ("Handyman" & "Star Star") will give you a historic view of why The Blackhearts' live shows were, and still are, an event that is rarely rivaled.

Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth leads off with an inevitable cover of The Runaways' teen angst anthem "Cherry Bomb" which is not a glossed-over tribute, but more of a springboard that jolts open the album. The Blackhearts were, and still are one of the few bands that could fuse punk, rock, glam, and pop into a focused, intensely coherent source of unpretentiousness. The songwriting team of Jett, Laguna, and Byrd, is the focal point on much of the album as they create adventurous, catchy, punk rock tunes that go much further than the verse-chord-verse style of playing it safe, that can cramp a band's style, and send the album down the tubes.

Extras include an over-the-top dance mix of "Cherry Bomb" that would rival Springsteen's remix of "Dancing in the Dark" a few years later, with its ricocheting drumbeats. In hindsight, it was more like deconstructing a wild soup of sounds and lyrics, than a brazen attempt to get hip, commercial airplay. The remake of "Bombs Away" which was co-written by Jett and Runaways guru Kim Fowley, is a blast of rock 'n roll 50's doo-wop and The Blackhearts' creatively ambitious mojo that is perfectly suited for melding the past and present. Bonus footage includes a cover of The Troggs' (it is an exceptional rocker) "I Can't Control Myself," "Frustrated," and a burning-down-the-house version of Gary US Bond's rocker, "New Orleans," from the Record Plant in NYC. Again, The Blackhearts are a band that make good, creative studio albums, and their live shows take that creativeness and multiply it a gazillion times! - Phil Rainone

Christmas Dogs Of War 2007!

2007-12-18T16:40:00.001-08:00

The Christmas Dogs of War 2007 Holiday Cancer Benefit will be taking place this year at Buddies Tavern, 277 Johnson Lane in Parlin NJ (732-721-1952.) Proceeds from the $10 door admission will be donated in full to Michael Daly, a Sayreville resident who has cancer.

Acts performing this year include but are not limited to Big Daddy & The Death Machine, Bullet Train, Dave Elder, Dead Pony Cats, Dead Teds Frozen Head, Eddie Beech, El Muchacho, Giles Bradley, Go Go Valante, Joe Canzano, Molecular Blues Machine, Rachel & The Lost Boys, Stone Soup, The Marbles, The Munchie Bunkers, Thomas Martin, Triangle Park, Ward Cleaver, Whiskey Flask Revenge, Zigman Bird.

The show begins promptly at 8 pm and will be hosted by Al Muzer.

The Christmas Dogs of War was started in 1987 by Michael Grau , a local musician/producer, as a collection of strange holiday recordings by Grau and his friends that would air on Christmas day on WRSU radio in New Brunswick. The Christmas Dogs of War became a live show in 1989 where it debuted at the unfortunately no longer in business Broadway Central Café in South Amboy NJ. The door money was donated for the first 5 years to the American Cancer Society, but in all years since has gone directly to a local family dealing with cancer. The show has always been billed as “The Christmas Dogs of War - An evening of strange holiday music,” and that description has never failed to disappoint any member of the audience. The radio show ran for over 10 years on WRSU and also spent a few years on a few other local stations. The live show has also taken place over the years at The Dugout in South Amboy, as well as The Saint in Asbury Park. This will be the second year at Buddies Tavern, the new home of this holiday event.

Mike Grau is currently the music coordinator at Buddies as well as owner of Grausound Live Sound, a company that will be recording and releasing all original-music live-performance CDs recorded weekly at Buddies Tavern. Buddies Tavern & Grausound Live Sound are putting the finishing touches on an all new sound, light and video installation in the club. In 2008, new art installations will be making their monthly appearance at Buddies Tavern to promote the best visual artists New Jersey has to offer. The first installation of 2008 will be works by Wayne Turback, in February.

Come down and watch The dogs turn 20 years old !!!!

PAUL LIVES!

2007-12-15T08:53:00.000-08:00

Paul McCartney - "Amoeba's Secret - Live, June 27, 2007" EP (Hear Music)

Still alive and well, leave it to Sir Paul McCartney to come up with a fresh idea! This four-song vinyl (I don't know if it came out on CD) EP is culled from a show he and his band did on June 27 of this year. Now, there's no credit for the band, where it was recorded, or any liner notes, and the photo of Paul playing the bass on the front cover is blurred (I had to ask the sales person where the album was - right in front of my face!), and the back of the sleeve is done in search-a-word form. The song titles and McCartney's name are all mixed in and circled - very cool. The whole concept has the vibe of a bootleg, only done properly (the recording is excellent quality).

The four songs are a crisscross of McCartney's career. Opening with an energized "Only Mama Knows" from his excellent new album, Memory Almost Full, the band rocks out with a vengeance, like youngsters with something to prove. From there they dust off a Wings tune, "C-Moon," that is a piano-driven reggae-rocker that Paul and the band reinvigorate. It features a likable melody and harmonies, adding a sparse use of piano, bass, drums, and keyboard.

Expanding their horizons, the band tears into "That Was Me," with references to Paul's life and career ("That was me/ sweatin' cobwebs/ Under contract/ in the Cellar/ That was me"). Paul does a nice vocal scat, that turns into an emotional shout, underlined by a propulsive bass line.'

The icing on the cake is Paul's new take on the Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There." It sounds fresh, exciting, and absolutely - ROCKS! Paul's energetic vocals and the band (I'd love to know who these guys are) transcends time and space, taking you back (or maybe it's your first time) to what the song meant originally. It's a sheer blast of fundamental ROCK 'N' ROLL, especially with Paul's count-off of "1-2-3-4!"

They went to some lengths to make this album seem like a "secret release," and it works!

McCartney recently ended his tenure with Capitol Records, and went with the newly created Starbucks' label (Joni Mitchell recently signed on, and released a new album after a long recording hiatus). I know that you're probably thinking Starbucks is a mega-corporation with no soul, like I do; but maybe their musical arm is doing something right. I still wouldn't buy their coffee, but it looks like they're on the right track as far as music goes, and you can pick up the albums in any record store, not just Starbucks (unlike the Eagles new release.)

Bottom line: "Amoeba's Secret" has some special karma going for it, and the music sounds great. McCartney and the band are invigorating, leaving you wanting more!

- Phil Rainone

Some Punk To Rock Your Yule

2007-12-15T08:49:00.001-08:00

American Steel- Destroy Their Future (www.fatwreck.com)

The deeper I get into Destroy Their Future, the more I'm hearing musical influences like Old 97's, Clash, Dropkick Murphys, and even some Springsteen. The absence of pretense ("Dead and Gone"), and the abundance of wit ("Razor Blades," "Love and Logic"), are equally matched with strong vocals and solid story telling imaginary.

Every song works, and the band spans a wide range of genre's with artistic vision. Full-throttle punk-dominated rock 'n' roll, mixed with new ways to sing and new things to sing about, vaults American Steel into new territories while stirring up the faintest memories of their influences.

"Hurtin" is a gentle acoustic lullaby with an alt./ country vibe. This album passes the acid test for what a really good band can accomplish given support and patience.

- Phil Rainone

King Django - Roots Tonic (www.jumpuprecords.com)

Some bands are just cool. No way around it, and no matter what your musical taste, you know it when you see it. One such band is King Django (pronounced: Jango). They're out of New Brunswick, and they've been turning heads and influencing bands for over a decade.

This reissue of Roots Tonic (2005) is a mixture of melodic reggae with a dose of old-school ska, inventive guitar work, and a rock steady rhythm section that's punctuated with articulate vocals.

At his best, King Django writes songs that have a depth to them that goes beyond the first listen. It's more like a quest to find more in the words and music. At the outset, and all through this disc, the lighter sounds and personal lyrics ("Too Many Things," "It's All Over"), fill the sunny grooves, but don't skirt the big issues ("In This Time," "Hard, Hard Thing"), also offer joyful celebration ("Rock and Come In," "Lyrics Architect"), and unity ("New York Neighbors").

"Wayfarer's Prayer" preaches an international message, and reflects King Django's growing stature. This is an album touches on many diverse elements with profoundly beautiful music, from the haunting instrumental "Zion Gates" to the irresistible surge of "Fistful of Riddim," which comes straight from Django's heart, and soul.

- Phil Rainone

Christmas Music For All Ages

2007-12-12T18:18:00.000-08:00

DARLENE LOVE - It's Christmas, Of Course! (Shoutfactory.com)

One of the Greatest Rock, Pop, R&B, and Soul Singers Ever Steps Up to the Mike, and Sings With More Intensity, More Swagger, More Soul!

Ok, I think I'm in just the right mood, with just the right vibe, and a ton of mojo! t's about twenty degrees outside, crispy and cold, with a dusting of snow on everything. Yeah, I know Jersey Beat is about all things punk but hey, it's Christmas time! I would have had a "punk angle" had they included songs from "Chipmunk Punk"- hey, I don't know but they are sorely missed. And speaking of Christmas, before I get too deep into the review, coming December 22 to Buddies Tavern in good ol' Parlin, NJ is the Christmas Dogs of War Show! I think this is the 13th year (I'll have an interview with the mastermind, and all-around cool guy, Mike Grau soon). It's a charity show featuring about a gazillion bands who all donate their time, energy, and talent to a good cause.

Oh, I found another "punk" reference. Darlene Love covers The Pretenders' "2000 Miles" (adding a sweet, heartfelt yearning) and John & Yoko's "Happy Xmas (War is Over,") proving once again that Jersey Beat is, (as The Boss likes to say), lets all say it together- "PUNKER THAN YOU!!" Is that the sound of one hand clapping, I hear? Darlene Love, who has had an amazing musical career, is primarily known as the lead singer of the 60's Phil Spector-produced, girl-group The Crystals ("He's a Rebel"). You'll also be wise to check if you haven't already, "Phil Spectors Christmas Album." It's Darlene, Ronnie Spector, Bobby Sox and The Blue Jeans, and others offering up one of THE BEST Christmas albums EVER! How good is it you ask? Well, if you listen to the album (try to find it on vinyl) from start to finish, it's almost like going to Christmas Eve Mass. On "Who Took the Merry Out of Christmas," the once middle of the road song is taken to church, right in the front pew, and is Mavis Staples-worthy, with her solid, core band (Gerry Leonard- guitars, Zev Katz- bass, Billy J. Stein- keyboards, Nir Z- drums).

On her new Christmas album, Darlene and the band have one foot in the past, as they recreate memorable melodies (not Spector's Wall of Sound,) and one foot in the present, as they only chose 70's & 80's Christmas tunes to cover. The opening track, a cover of Tom Petty's "Christmas All Over Again," is guaranteed to wipe out any cabin fever blues you my have anytime this Winter. They give Stevie Wonder's "What Christmas Means to Me” (check Stevie's Christmas album for some fiery, spiritual tunes to sit under the mistletoe sipping egg nog with), a musical thunderbolt over Darlene's old-school, bluesy vocals. In 1963, Darlene Love cut the classic "Christmas Baby Please Come Home" (U2 does a marvelous cover), and on Billy Squire's "Christmas is the Time to Say I Love You," they rock out big time, using a few of her trademark vocals that helped to make her famous. I wish they had included the Little Stephen Van Zant produced, "Alone At Christmas," which never stops kicking your butt - a great tribute to Darlene's vocal prowess. The one original song, "Night of Peace," closes the 12-song CD with a melancholy attitude that will stick to you like soft Winter snowflakes. John & Yoko's "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" still strikes a nerve, and is still as powerful, and optimistically hopeful. Unfortunately, we need the song as much now, if not more, as we did back in the 70's.

Darlene Love will be doing her annual Christmas Show at The Rose Theatre in NYC, and will appear on the David letterman show before Christmas. Buy her album, turn in to the show, and if you get a chance, see her live. You won't be disappointed. – Phil Rainone

Christmas With the Chipmunks / Chipmunks Greatest Hits (Capitol/EMI)

Like a guilty pleasure (actually it's a pleasure, period), those mischievous members of the rodent family keep popping up, especially during the holidays - and that's a good thing! Again, there's nothing much here to do with punk or any of it's subsidiaries. Well, I could moan and groan about how they left out anything from the "Chipmunk Punk" album, which I think only came out on vinyl (hey, if they make a sequel they call it, "'Munk Punk"), but keeping in the spirit of the season, let's keep it upbeat. Since first scooting up the charts in 1958, Alvin, Simon, Theodore, and their human friend Dave Seville (there's a new movie out with the brothers Munk, featuring Jason Lee as Dave) have put their trademark (paw) prints ("Alvin... Alvin... ALVIN!! Okaaaaay" - I had to say it) on many a pop, rock, county, & punk album. These two CD's (sold separately) have been digitally remastered and expanded with extra songs. Besides the standards like "Here Comes Santa Claus," "Jingle Bells," "Rudolph...," "Frosty..." etc., there's also the more rockin' tunes like "Jingle Bell Rock," and a bluesy, soul- rockin' version of "The Chipmunk Song" featuring Canned Heat from 1968. You'll hear Canned Heat in the studio with The Chipmunks (think of the video of Aerosmith with Run DMC doing "Walk This Way,” only cooler) that has them both competing for bragging rights. It's a boogie-jam, bar none! The Greatest Hits finds da bruddas working their special mojo on a variety of genre's. The 26 songs (11 have been added to this reissue) include a long-forgotten gem "Japanese Banana" (if you're wondering yes, they were big in Japan) and "Chipmunk Fun." The boys pull out all the stops on 60's British Invasion hits like The Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love," "She Loves You," and "Please, Please Me” that absolutely rock-out! But wait, they didn't stop with just The Beatles - they turn in a rockabilly rendition of Herman Hermits' "I'm Henry the VIII, I Am" that is a lot of fun (Hey wait a minute, I've got a "punk connection." The Ramones nicked the "Second verse, same as the first' from "I'm Henry...") Alvin shows off his musical chops with a hot harmonica solo on "Alvin's Harmonica," in which they find a cool rhyme for Veronica! Then there's "The Alvin Twist" which, with a some solid air play, could start another dance craze, and let's throw in the hula hoop for good measure!

More Stockings stuffers: They just reissued the children’s album "In Harmony," which has the long out of print seasonal rocker "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" by Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band. And when is some rocket scientist going to put "Snoopy's Christmas" (and the other two Royal Guardsmen "Snoopy Songs") on CD?

Have a Cool Yule! - Phil Rainone

U2 - The Joshua Tree (20th Anniversary Edition)

2007-12-12T18:16:00.001-08:00

U2 - The Joshua Tree (Twentieth Anniversary Edition) (Universal/ Island)

Back in 1987, when I was DJ’ing at a club, someone gave me a copy of U2's new album The Joshua Tree to play. It was one of the first compact discs I had gotten, since the format was just coming of age. I played the first song "Where the Streets Have No Name," and it went over pretty good with the crowd. A little later, I played the second song, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," and from there on, we were hooked! Throughout the night, and for years to come, I'd rely on The Joshua Tree to entertain, energize, and enlighten, not only at parties but on a personal level as well.

The Joshua Tree has always been at the top of my list of the best albums of all time. Even casual U2 fans like me see it as the band's masterpiece. This is the first re-mastering and it, along with the bonus audio disc of rarities and DVD, does not disappoint. According to the extensive liner notes, "The Joshua Tree made U2 into international rock stars and established both a standard they would always have to live up to and an image they would forever try to live down." Both those things have been good for the band as they were able to balance the karma and mojo throughout the years.

These songs are familiar to anyone who has been attentive to popular music since the album was released. After years of shouting from the barricades, this album found the band looking inward, and producers Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, and Steve Lillywhite provide perfect aural settings for the mostly introspective songs.

There are plenty of finds on the B-sides and rarities disc. "Spanish Eyes," "Deep In The Heart," and "Silver and Gold" are part of what makes this disc particularly interesting, in that they seem to recap where the band has been and where they currently were, while pursuing the direction in which they would soon be headed.

As for the original album, you already know these songs by heart; U2 may have made better albums, more exciting albums, and more emotional albums, but they never made a more universally beloved one. The best moments, as with any album, connect on both a physical and emotional level: "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" have been a spiritual compass for many of us over the years, and continue to be moral support when the times are bad. There aren’t many bands out there these days that can have that affect. - Phil Rainone

The Godfathers of Berkeley Punk Are Back

2007-12-05T06:31:00.000-08:00

With the demise of Lookout Records, many of the label's artists have reclaimed their recordings and are reissuing them on other labels. Screeching Weasel did it first, followed more recently by the Queers. And now Operation Ivy's seminal - the band's only full length, a 7-inch EP, and two compilation tracks - are back in print, on Tim Armstrong's Hellcat Records (a part of Epitaph Records.) Operation Ivy were in many ways the founders of the Berkeley punk scene in the late 80's; Green Day's Billy Joe Armstrong has talked often of sneaking into OpIvy shows as an underage fan and wanting to start his own band because of them. - Editor

OPERATION IVY - "Energy" / "Hectic" / "Turn It Around" - Reissue (Hellcat Records)

Filled with tightly wound tunes, this reissue (which includes 1989's "Energy" LP, '87's "Hectic" EP, and two OpIvy cuts from the "Turn it Around" compilation) boast punk rock rave-ups with some hard ska rhythms that take a few cues from old-school British 2-Tone groups like The Specials or Madness. There's a push/ pull cadence between the band's hard punk leanings that is evident on the much-covered opener "Knowledge," which is a fiery tune that kicks into a ferocious anthem.

OpIvy's band members have gone on to groups like Rancid and Common Rider but when the band started playing out in the late 80's (Jesse Michaels- Vocals; Tim Armstrong-guitar, vocals; Matt Freeman-bass, vocals; and Dave Mello-drums, vocals), they were pioneers of a sound that had to compete with the straightedge hardcore beatdowns of the day.

The songs here - which bring together pretty much all of OpIvy's back catalog - concern typical punk-rock subject matter ("Unity," "Big City," "Bad Town"), but the utter lack of self-consciousness produces more openness and introspection than you've probably heard in a long time. Operation Ivy mix socially and politically aware lyrics with infectious hardcore dance rhythms. You might just want to slam dance to a tune like "Room Without a Window," which is a near-perfect example of melodious, riffing punk, just oozing with rock 'n' roll.

From the piledriving "Missionary" to the swaggering "Junkie's Runnin' Dry," Operation Ivy created gritty, punk rock classics. They not only stuck to their rock 'n' roll guns, but over time, reached a measure of mainstream acceptance in the process. Twenty years later, they are revered as a band that is considered a template for what a good punk rock stands for. Operation Ivy made essential punk rock music that has stood the test of time, and sounds just as exciting and powerful today as it did way back when.

Prototypical punk without compromise, this reissue includes almost everything you need to hear by Operation Ivy. This is not just for diehards only. If you what to get a heavy dose of what punk was like back in the late 80's, here's a great place to start!- Phil Rainone

Heavy Metal Kids

2007-12-03T12:40:00.000-08:00

Rosedale, Shiftkicker - Cagneys Pub, Parlin, NJ Dec. 1, 2007

by Phil Rainone

You know that song at the end of every show where the band tries to do one last, over-the-top number, leaving you wanting more? Well, that was what every song was like during Rosedale's brief but powerful set at Cagneys Pub (www.cagneyspub.com).

This was my first time there (it's right around the corner from Buddies Tavern), and they feature original bands like Shiftkicker, who played before Rosedale. Shiftkicker suffered from a bad mix, as the drummer sounded like he was hitting a garbage can lid, and the singers had to yell to be heard through the microphones, but I was told those problems would be corrected in the near future, as they're rearranging the stage area, and the sound system.

There was also a good community vibe as the bands that played before and after each other hung out along with some of their fans, giving support all around. It was five bucks to get in, but well worth it since you got to see three good bands. Rivers Monroe played last, which I missed, but I heard good things about their set, and they gave me their CD to review.

Rosedale opened with a cover of The Jimi Hendrix Experience's "Foxy Lady," with which they created their own "experience." Whether it's covers or originals (they played three fine originals), it seems like their aim is to break you down. That is, make you stop what you're doing and pay attention, because if you do, you're gonna have a great time watching these guys perform!

I've seen them a couple of times at The Blue Moon in So. Amboy (Mike Lefton: guitar/ vocals, Skyler Lutz: bass/ vocals, & Cornel St. Louis: drums/ vocals; and wow, their average age is 15!), and even with some of the seasoned bands there, Rosedale would turn heads. What was also extraordinary at the Blue Moon was that Mike would also play with his dad Alan on bass, and a pick-up drummer from the jam sessions, and play with a little more finesse. It's like he rose to the occasion.

The Cagney's show was like a lesson in Blues/Rock 101, but nothing like a lot of those cookie-cutter bands you'd find these days. While some bands could be compared to a stark pen and ink drawing, Rosedale are in full color with lots of detail. Featuring Skyler on bass, with Patrick Clarke on drums, (who substituted for
Cornel), they provided the locomotive soul of the band. The original fast-paced
rocker "Can't Get the Blues," was supercharged with a jolt of Chicago jump blues, and a nod to Ten Years After's rockabilly style of the blues, which was exceptional.

"Mississippi Queen" was Mountain-worthy, as the band jammed with a vengeance, throwing in a dash of Jack Bruce's (Cream) "Politician." They also covered Robert Johnson's "Crossroads, via Cream, via Rosedale. These aren't exacly covers, and that's a good thing. It's more like they take the vibe of a song and add their own special mojo.

The seven song set was one rolling wave of music after another. While some bands listen to music, it's evident that this band studies the music. There's so much going on in each song that you want hear what's coming next. With their live performance and their impressive EP, they are a band to keep up with, not just for what they are doing but to see where they are going to take it next.

Praise The Lord and Pass The Syncopation

2007-11-29T13:37:00.000-08:00

Bob Marley & the Wailers- Exodus 30th Anniversary Edition - CD/DVD (Universal/Island)

by Phil Rainone

On Exodus, Bob Marley & the Wailers' fifth studio album, they praise the Lord louder than anything since Aretha Franklin's early fiery gospel work. This ten song collection of funkafied, soulful reggae/rock even tackles Curtis Mayfield's blissed-out gospel great, "People Get Ready" as they intertwine the lyrics with Marley's and the I Three's background harmonies that take this one to church.

Although there were to be a few more albums in Marley's career, Exodus sums up the career of a great artist and band who long ago embraced the work ethic of musical journeyman, and religious beacon. Exodus owes it soul to straight R&B, blues, and of course reggae, all of which Marley had learned from the 50's and 60's.

On songs like "Natural Mystic" and "Waiting in Vain," Bob vocalizes like a horn player - dancing above or around the melody, clustering short phrases in beautiful repetitions, drawing out the beauty in the words and the music. On the reggae/rocker "Jammin," he doesn't want to extend the genre, just stand alongside it, rolling out a most infectious groove.

The DVD of the Live at the Rainbow Concert recorded in 1977, captures most of the Exodus album live, and adds career changing songs like, "I Shot the Sheriff" - which Clapton recorded and brought to the world, and the defiant "Get Up, Stand Up."

At the Rainbow show, Bob Marley and The Wailers, along with The I Three's, play like an old-time gospel review, bearing witness to the long road behind and ahead. Like Moses descending from the mountain to whip the faithful into a fury, Marley lifts his guitar as a staff to rouse the throng from the first note to the last, seemingly counting down the commandments one by one. Nearly half the show unfurls the better parts of Exodus, railed against false idols and social disorder. But these songs do not stiffly preach - they swing, pummel, and they take a specific stand. There is no grey area in Marley's world.

There is a bounce to the songs and a connection to the songwriter's step that is clearly evident when the Wailers' play these songs. The set appears to be more a singular statement than a mere concert. There is no room here for isolation or selfishness. There is a plot, a method, a thorny storyline you must follow, like the chosen shuffling through a parting sea.

But there's also the obligatory stomp and revelry of a Bob Marley & The Wailers show, which includes a spirited, rough-edged "Jammin." The whole show goes a long way to providing a sledehammer to the echoes of survival, musical or Biblical.

A Real Film - Almost - But Still As Much Fun

2007-11-29T13:32:00.000-08:00

The Beatles - Help! DVD (Capitol/Apple)

Directed by Richard Lester (who also directed The Beatles' debut movie "A Hard Days Night," and was involved with The Marx Brothers movies,) "Help!" was originally released in 1965. It was originally released on DVD in 2002 but has been out of print for years.

"It's a real film - almost." That's how Paul McCartney describes "Help!" in a voice-over during the making-of documentary that's included with this two disc set. Actually, he was being modest. Compared to their prior film, which was in black-and-white and sometimes choppy, in “Help!” the boys are always on the run and getting into trouble. "A Hard Days Night" (it's one of my favorite Beatles movies, right up there with "Yellow Submarine") is a little more in-depth with its plot and it digs a little deeper into the Beatles personalities. "Help!" was the Beatles' first color feature, and the first to actually have an adventurous plot: A sacred ring, bad guys, and a big closing with a fight scene. The filming took four months, was filmed in the Austrian Alps and the Bahamas, and has a fun vibe running through it, full of vaudeville slapstick and James Bond gags.

The Beatles themselves seem more at ease with their characters. Lester describes the Beatles as "passive recipients" - the action moves them instead of them moving the action. Ringo plays the main quarry of a long, sometime drawn-out chase. With “Help!”, Lester went even further with camera movements, and the spirit of the movie was more like, Let's try it an see if it works, rather than the same old song and dance routine that so many artists at the time like Elvis would turn out picture after picture.

The Beatles were also pre- Monty Python (George Harrison would play a major part in producing their movies a few years later), but their deadpan comedy is as funny today as it was in'65, from the chattering mechanical teeth that were used to cut the indoor grass, to the ridiculously elaborate Rube Goldberg devices employed to remove poor Ringo's ring. All through the movie you were let in on the joke, and that made it even funnier.

The music for the film included the Dylan-inspired "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," "Help!" "You're Going to Lose That Girl," "Ticket to Ride," The Night Before," "I Need You," - with it backwards guitar lines - and "Another Girl," which showed a maturity in the band's writing and musicianship. They were yet to write the beautiful, self-refective, "Rubber Soul," and the culture-changing "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band."

Disc Two includes a 30-minute documentary about the making of the film, with Richard Lester, the cast, and crew. The behind the scenes footage of the Beatles on the set is almost like adding another movie short. It's very funny! "Help!" is another piece to the Beatles amazing legacy, and also showed us a a sense of possibilities. A part of the soundtrack of our lives. - Phil Rainone

Bringing It All Back Home

2007-11-28T12:31:00.000-08:00

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Live at Monterey CD/DVD (Universal)

by Phil Rainone

This long-overdue version of The Jimi Hendrix Experience's American debut at The Monterey International Pop Festival on June 18, 1967 is a cornucopia of sights and sounds. The audio CD has been completely remastered, and the separate DVD version has been transferred to hi-definition video with SurroundSound.

Jimi had been playing in bands as a guitarist (for Little Richard and others) for years in America, but he had gone to England to get his start. He formed his own band, The Experience, recruiting Mitch Mitchell on drums, and Noel Redding on bass. After nine months of jaw-dropping shows in front of his peers like The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Who, and pretty much all of England's music royalty, The Jimi Hendrix Experience was ready to conquer America. Fast froward to The Monterey Pop Fest.

You might want to wait for the DVD, which provides a really solid overview of what the Festival was about ("Music, Love and Flowers.") Probably 99% of the fans there didn't know who Hendrix was, but they were about to find out about the buzz he had created that had made its way over from England. About ten minutes into the DVD, there's a scene in which The Who's guitarist Pete Townshend has a conversation with Hendrix about who should go on last, The Who or The Experience. Now, here's a huge, established band that was known for extreme performances of music and mayhem that Hendrix admired. After Townshend won't take no for an answer and insists that The Experience follow the Who, Hendrix backs down and says, "Now I have to pull out all the stops!"

After a taste of a few of the bands (there's a box set of "Monterey Pop" out to get the full effect of the Festival) like The Mamas and Papas, and an introduction from the stage by The Stones' Brian Jones, The Jimi Hendrix Experience starts out with a monstrous, rockin' blues cover of Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor" that will put your heart in your throat! Jimi's cool, calm attitude, and simply amazingly fluid guitar work is flanked by Noel's blazing bass line, underscored by Mitch's rhythmic, dense drumming, not to mention their colorful, 60's Carnaby Street stle of clothing. The blistering workout of chops that screeched and roared to the rafters and back created that special vibe, letting you know that the band was operating on
maximum mojo!

From there, it turns into a 45 minute set of transcendence and showmanship, as the trio sets out to conquer America, establishing the band as truly being an "Experience." The audio CD includes the complete show from their Monterey Pop set, but the DVD doesn't include "Can You See Me." The press kit says that the DVD "offers all the existing footage." I guessing that "Can You See Me" wasn't filmed properly, but the audio is in perfect shape on the CD.

Other than that slight problem, this is the motherlode we've been waiting for forever since they released the album of Hendirix's Monterey performance back in 1967. And even than it was only five songs which was a split album (Hendrix got the A-side), with Otis Redding. (Hey, how about they release Otis' full rock & soul set too?)

These nine songs that were about half originals, half covers and The Experience's manic stage performance set the bar higher than anyone had expected. Playing his guitar with his teeth, behind his back, and at times as Lou Adler, one of the promoters said, "Jimi has musical intercourse with his guitar," through out the 45 minute set kept his word on, "pulling out all the stops," and as a finale, dousing his guitar with a can of lighter fluid (Ronson missed a great commercial opportunity). Jimi's on his knees, fanning the flames as Mitchell and Redding keep pace with Hendrix's barbaric smashing and trashing of his singed guitar, as he hits a home run with it, into his stack of Marshall amps, at the end of the neanderthalic cover of The Troggs' "Wild Thing."

I swear that it sounds like in the middle of the song, Jimi breaks into a few instrumental bars of Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night!" In-between the first and last song The Experience build musical peaks, tearing through "Foxy Lady," "Hey Joe, "Rock Me Baby." They finally hit a valley with a bluesy crawl through "The Wind Cries Mary" that showcases the trio's intensely quiet side. "Purple Haze" from the band's first album, "Are You Experienced" gives us a glimpse of what it would sound like two years later when Hendrix closed Woodstock. Like a locomotive engine building up steam, the band creates a slow cadence in the first few seconds then it's like they rip open a hole in the ozone layer, as they crunch out a wicked whiplash push-and-pull, mind-altering workout.

The DVD has plenty of bonus features. "A Second Look" allows views to switch between multiple, previously unseen camera angles (my only complaint is that at times they use a little too much MTV/music video-style of camera angles, taking away some of the performance, as compared to watching the whole band gel into a song.) "American Landing" is a new documentary that includes previously unreleased interviews with Mitchell, Redding, and Hendrix. There's also "Music, Love and Flowers," which is an inside look at the Monterey International Pop Festival with co-founders Lou Adler, and (Poppa) John Phillips. Also, there are bonus tracks of live performances of "Stone Free" and the cover of Dylan's masterpiece "Like A Rolling Stone" (which is twisted and torqued into a furious battle by Hendrix, Redding and Mitchel;) these are two of earliest known unreleased Jimi Hendrix Experience performances, shot February 25, 1967 at Chelmsford, England which are also part of the DVD, along with some great photos of the band and the era.

The Monterey International pop Festival lasted three days, and went off with hardly a problem (all the bands donated their payments to charity), and The Jimi Hendrix Experience went on the worldwide fame. Jimi left us in 1970, way too young. A drug causality, he left us with a catalogue that has been dissected and resurrected more times than almost any artists of his era. One fact remains, the music will live on and continue to inspire guitarists and musicians (check local bands like The Gus Bardaji Group or Rosedale), forever. This past November would have been Jimi's 65th birthday.

Rockin' The Jersey Shore Vibe

2007-11-27T17:20:00.001-08:00

The Keith Kenny Band - Todd's Dugout & Sports Cafe, So. Amboy - Nov. 21, 2007

Story and Photos By Phil Rainone

It didn't hit me until after Keith Kenny did a solo set before he brought the rest of the band on stage. FISSION - not fusion - is the right word to describe the type of music that Keith plays, at least according to the dictionary: "A cleaving of parts; the splitting of an atomic nucleus resulting in the release of large amounts of energy."

Nothing in his set, which lasted about 30 minutes, ended in a fixed resolution. Other than taking a moment to introduce a song or talk to the crowd, Keith punctuated, reverberated, and infatuated every moment of music with commanding gales from his guitar.

Last year Keith was one of the artists chosen to perform at the Asbury Music Awards. Around the same time, I was talking to Todd (owner of The Dugout), and he had asked if there was a "Jersey shore sound." Fast forward to this year after The Asbury Music Awards, where the bands that played and received awards ranged from singer songwriters, to punk, to alternative to hardcore, and pretty much everything in-between, and Keith Kenny's set at The Dugout. Todd hit it on the nose. He said that it's a "Jersey musical culture." It's a heritage, a feeling, a vibe, a musical mojo that extends North, East, West & South, inspiring bands, and fans who enjoy extremely original music.

This night, Keith - at times along with the crowd - got lost in the music. A sharp-edged version of AC/DC's "TNT Dynamite" was like a wake-up call as the crowd joined in unison, fists puncturing the air, chanting the refrain, "Oi!- Oi!- Oi!"
His blue-eyed souled, acoustic version of Ray Charles' "Hit the Road Jack," was loose, focused, and fun. Mixing new and old favorites, Keith was a blur of tones and noises that all worked beautifully together! "Roxbury Tale," about a friend who had died, seemed to be the centerpiece of this set. The times I've seen Keith plays the last two years, he seems to put a little more passion and perspective into the song each time.

Otherwise, Keith took off on convulsive solos, and melodic shorthand which pointed the way through the rest of his set, but you never knew when to expect Keith to return and start over, as rhythms blurred from one song to another.- And that's what makes his shows so much fun time after time!

During the break, a couple of no-neck neanderthals threw on about a dozen country songs on the jukebox, which unfortunately, they knew the words to, which is almost as bad as Karaoke. C'mon son, watered-down country ain't nowhere's near cool, ya gotta rock the jukebox once and a while!!

Ok, I feel a lot better now that I got that off my chest. So out comes the band and they proceed to play some amazing jams that are Crazy Horse-worthy! The psychedelic rebellion of new songs like "The Rounds" or "Trust Me" are rooted in rock, with tinges of country's roots. The rhythm section of Jonathan Luberecki-bass, and Tyler Chiara-drums, uses broad, bold strokes as they crash, smash, and mesh with Keith's slicing guitar angels.

They've been road testing songs for the band's new album that should be out in early '08, and Keith's been asked to go to Anaheim, CA to perform a showcase for N.A.M.M. this coming Spring. This is a band that when improvising on stage seem to believe that, if you trust in the inspiration of the moment, it will take you somewhere compelling. Mixing metal, noise, and the blues into a song like "Bedrock," was like seeing thin, wild mercury moving to the music. The band incorporates a variety of different musical languages as seamlessly as they incorporate different musical cultures. A genre-bending performance that can switch gears on a moments notice. The Keith Kenny Band's incredible upbeat music is a party for your ears and for your soul!

For upcoming show dates and more info, check out www.keithkenny.net

A Music Oasis (South Amboy Style)

2007-10-29T08:47:00.000-07:00

The Gus Bardaji Group - The Blue Moon, South Amboy NJ - Oct. 13, 2007

By Phil Rainone

"Once in a Blue Moon something good comes along/ Once in a Blue Moon everything's not going wrong/ Well, you get weary hearin' the same old song/ Once, every once in a while something comes along that feels just right/ It's just like switchin' on an electric light..." from "Once in a Blue Moon" - Van Morrison

That's the type of vibe you'll experience when you go to the Blue Moon. It's an experience and vibe that is unmatched in this area. Sometimes it takes a while for it to hit you. No cover charge, no TV's, it's an eclectic mix, and the bands are in a class by themselves.

Opening their first of three sets with Howlin' Wolf's blues masterpiece "Killing Floor," The Gus Bardaji Group (www.gusbardji.com) once again defined why they stand head and shoulders above run-of-the-mill cover bands. In fact, you can't really call them a cover band. Besides their originals they do more exploring of musical genres then merely doing a note-for-note rendition of a song.

With Breeze on drums and Kevin Brennan on bass, they sought out the inner mojo of "Hey Joe," a song most bands gloss over without any real feeling or passion. Gus, Breeze, and Kevin fleshed out the original vibe (via The Leaves, via Hendrix), while sustaining the story line of song about hopelessness and wandering.

This is a new configuration of the band that's been together for a few months. A tweak here and there, and this will be a band to be reckoned with. The organic blues of the bands cover of "The Peter Gunn Theme" is again, not a run-of-the-mill cover tune. They inject it with a little of Hendrix's instrumental, "Machine Gun" - Oh, now I get it! "Peter Gunn"/"Machine Gun," cool! - and connect it with the magic of The Gus Bardaji Group, creating something special and unique!

They make SRV's blues romper "Cold Shot" look easy, but you can tell there's a lot of band telepathy going on. They can take a prime blues cut like Hendrix's "Third Stone From the Sun," and send it into orbit, just like they did on the opening number for their second set, "Traffic Jam." They used "If 6 Was 9" as a stepping stone for a swing into Santana's "Jingo." Gus did a nice vocal job, but the original stands out a little more in my mind.

An interesting surprise was Miles Davis' "All Blues," which morphed from jazzy blues, to bluesy soul, and blues as hard as any rock. Then there was Frankie Bell, Princess of the Blues. She had sang the night before on a few numbers, as Gus (with Kevin & Breeze), runs the Open Mic/Ladies Nite on Thursdays (all the shows at the Blue Moon, including Friday & Saturday are NO COVER). On "Big Boss Man" and a couple of other numbers she definitely had her mojo working. If you closed your eyes, it almost felt like The Experience backing up Billie.

Like I said before, The Blue Moon is a musical oasis!

A Tribute To Fats

2007-10-25T09:15:00.000-07:00

Goin' Home- A Tribute to Fats Domino (Vanguard Records)

This stellar tribute to one of the cornerstones of rock 'n roll will help raise desperately needed funds specifically earmarked for instruments to be donated to New Orleans' public school children. Monies raised will also go towards the rebuilding of Fats Domino's home and to create a community center in the Crescent City's still ravaged Lower 9th Ward, and community related programs.

This two disc set reads like a wish list of musicians that you'd what to be on a tribute album. Originators like Taj Mahal and the New Orleans Social Club perform an stirring cover of The Fat Man's "Every Night About This Time," and Irma Thomas teams up with Marcia Ball for a foot stompin' "I Just Can't get New Orleans Off My Mind."

If you check the Fats Domino three CD set that came out a few years ago, besides some great early rock 'n roll, Fats' didn't stray musically, far from home over the years.

The paring of musicians like Lenny Kravitz with Rebirth Brass Band features an amazing lineup including, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, Fred Wesley, Pee Wee Ellis, and Maceo Parker, jamming out on one of the most soulful covers of "Whole Lotta Loving," ever!

I think this is the first time that John Lennon and Paul McCartney appear on a tribute album, with Lennon rockin' out on the Phil Spector produced "Ain't That A Shame," while McCartney does his best (and very cool), impersonation of Fats crooning, "I Want to Walk You Home," with the legendary Allen Toussaint backing him up on piano.

Over the years, some of us got our clue about these very soulful, rockin' blues through contemporary bands like Led Zepplin, or Cream. I remember a live bootleg album with Zep bumping 'n grinding their way through "Blueberry Hill," with Robert Plant wailing his way through the song like he was on fire! Here, Robert teams up with Lil' Band O' Gold for a stunning "It Keeps Raining," and again with The Soweto Gospel Choir for a sensationally soulful, "Valley of Tears."

Two of my favorites on Goin' Home are Joss Stone paring with The Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Buddy Guy on "Every Night About This Time." They turn the song inside out, sideways, and just about every way you can think of with they're blending of musical styles, and with sweet (Joss), and whiskey- soaked (Buddy), vocal styles. Also, Lucinda Williams' superb cover of "Honey Chile" is amazing! She sends this quiet number into blues heaven with her stinging wail of a voice. The blues are the soul of American popular music, and they are a key ingredient in rock 'n roll. This tribute album is like an ever-unfolding story. All the artists here were influenced in part by Fats Domino, who was influenced by his peers. Hopefully, Goin' Home, besides raising some needed funds for some good causes will influence another generation of musicians

- Phil Rainone

Sex Kittens A GoGo!

2007-10-23T12:49:00.000-07:00

The Pipettes - We Are the Pipettes (Interscope)
The Pipettes will be remembered as perhaps one of the coolest bands to emerge out of the current English neo-soul scene (best of new soul shakers are Joss Stone & James Hunter). Combining touches of 80's new wave, 70's Philly soul, and Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound," the result is a first-class hit-making band!

The vibe of The Pipettes is pure kitsch. It's like the retro garage-rock feel that can be found at Asbury Lanes. You can't buy it or sell it, you either have it or you don't. It's a vibe - mojo with that off-kilter...something...different and cool!

The three lead vocalists - Riotbeci (the punk rocker,) Gwenno (the shy blonde,) & Rosay (the brunette vamp) are like a combination of Betty & Veronica (from the Archies) & Barbie - very cool gals I must say! The backing band, which calls itself The Cassettes, are Jon/bass, Seb/keyboards, Robin/ drums, & Monster Bobby/guitars.

If you're a fan of Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson, than these three cheeky babes are just what you're gonna need to whip those cabin fever blues away this winter! There's also brains behind the beauty, as the gals wrote their own songs. They're able to put the sounds in their heads on plastic, and come up with something fresh and fun!

As a band, The Pipettes maintain a distinctive group identity, and engage in an inspired, positively subversive performance that must make for an interesting live show. On record, The Pipettes come across as non-threatening, but I'm guessing they're more like The Ronettes or Camaros. Both were girl-groups fronted by come-hither, sex kittens; they're every boy's dream date, but by the end of the night, you won't be much more than one of their many boy-toys!

Over the lush, highly arranged songs, the ladies croon some wonderful tunes, like the Carole King-inspired "I Love You," or "Baby, Just be Yourself." The group capitalizes on its youthful vitality and charm, and in the process can make even the most cynical listener a fan. Until The B-52's put out a new album (they were supposed to play at Starland Ballroom on Halloween, but the show was cancelled), I highly recommend We Are The Pipettes. Hey, wait a minute! How about a tour with the Pipettes opening for the B-52's, and while we're at it, let's resurrect The Archies and The Royal Guardsmen, and really have a blast?! That would be an awesome show for Asbury Lanes to put on!

- Phil Rainone

The Kids Are All Right: The Beatles Becomes Relevant To A New Generation

2007-10-20T07:52:00.000-07:00

Across the Universe (Interscope Records)

by Phil Rainone

Ok, I could be a wise guy and say, "Don't Read This Review Until You See The Movie!" Then hope that you will actually read it - but I not going to do that because I hate when someone does that!

The truth is, I saw clips of the movie Across the Universe on Oprah (not that I watch Oprah, or Dr. Phil - well, sometimes), and the cool vibe I got from the combination of sound & vision was amazing! Director Julie Taymor reinvents the movie musical with 31 classic Beatle songs that helped define a generation, and is about to do the same now.

I don't want to give away the whole plot, but this is an original love story set in the 60's as they take us through the turbulent years of anti-war protests, mind exploration, and of course, rock 'n roll. The only "known" actor is Evan Rachel Wood who plays Lucy (the characters are based on names from Beatles songs - Jude, Mr. Kite, etc.), and the only "known" musician are Bono, who does an amazingly psychedelic reading of "I Am the Walrus," and Joe Cocker's over the top rendition (very cool) of "Come Together."

The sessions band is lead by T-Bone Burnette who reshapes the music of the Beatles. What strikes me most about his style (they used vintage analog tapes, microphones, etc. on most of the songs), is how that these young actors who are in their early 20's, pay tribute to the original, but they also take the songs of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, and find the beauty and power that's in the music and lyrics. I didn't expect them to get the same connection that anyone who was there in the 60's would, but the kids sing with sincerity and conviction, bringing The Beatles and their body of work to inspire a new generation (and a few of us old-timers too).

I remember watching The Beatles on their first Ed Sullivan TV show (my sister Kathleen who tuned in for the show was a big fan), and even at the age of 5 I knew it was something special. Years later when I saw the animated Beatles' cartoon "Yellow Submarine" in the movies, it also opened up a whole new world of possiblities, especially the scene for "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," and "Nowhere Man." Now there was a visual for two of my favorite songs, even if The Beatles didn't have anything to do with the movie other than the songs. Since than and all through my life it's been as if The Beatles had tapped into something- some kind of Universal Mojo...

The different textures and stylings the songs are given (splurge a little and buy the 2 CD set), by the actors is simply amazing, and the way the songs are weaved into the story is fun and interesting. Unlike most musicals where the story comes first then the songs are inserted, the songs themselves defined the characters and shaped the plot. Of the 31 songs on Across the Universe , there is not one dud. The different male/ female perspectives, and colors (check Bono's cameo as Dr. Robert singing "I Am the Walrus") that brighten the movie like "Hold Me Tight," which is a monster of a rave-up, or "With a Little Help From My Friends," which starts out as a happy sing-along, that turns into a Joe Cocker- worthy, blues/rock jam finale is remarkable. There's also some songs that the shine even when they're dulled down a bit like, "All My Loving" and "Flying." The latter song, originally a drab, piece of filler sung by Ringo on The White Album, is refurbished with a grittier, rockin' vibe, that makes the original seem pale in comparison.

"I've Just Seen a Face" takes Paul's original country hoe-down to a rougher place (It rocks), and Lennon's "All You Need is Love" is reinstated as a Universal Anthem of spiritualness and freedom The list just goes on and on. These are remarkable remakes. Julie Taymor, the cast, the musicians (I'd love to see them take Across the Universe on the road with the original musicians and singers), have made an ambitious movie of freedom and experimentalism- ideals that were central to the momentum of the 60's and to rock 'n roll. The nature of the movement was to push new possibilities, and as John Lennon had said about The Beatles, "Changing the lifestyle and appearance of youth throughout the world didn't just happen - we set out to do it. We knew what we were going."

Like I said, see the movie, than buy the soundtrack. This is an experience that will totally affect your mind, body and soul!

Surf's Up In Parlin

2007-10-16T12:23:00.000-07:00

The Fin-dicators/ Thomas Martin - Buddies Tavern, Parlin, NJ Oct. 12, 2007

By Phil Rainone

Tom Martin opened with his usual cool set of songs about heartbreak, faith, love, and a smart cover of Buck Owens. Tom has a way of weaving these themes with an alt-country slant, that is at times, balanced with subliminal, open-hearted stories with consequences. He has a knack for mixing the obvious with the obscure.

The Fin-dicators (www.thefindicators.com) were a cool addition to the already diverse musical genre that Mike Grau and the good people at Buddies have been conjuring up for over a year now, and there's NO COVER CHARGE! (Hey, Mike's Christmas Dogs of War Show is coming up. For details and other shows at Buddies
check out myspace.com/buddiestavern.)

"Anybody know how to do The Mashed Potato?" About three songs into their instrumental surf rock set, lead guitarist Bill M. surprised the crowd with some fancy footwork reprising the ancient 60's dance number ("It's the latest/ it's the greatest/ put some gravy on your mashed potatoes")! But I digress, starting out with a heated instro (all their songs were surf rock instrumentals), "Pipeline" crashed into "Penetration," which veered into a the band's original "Surfrider." Throughout their 45 min. set the music was tight, hot, and definitely fun! Their cover of Los Straightjackets' "Rockula" was a nice surprise, which gave way to the slower vibe of the theme from "Endless Summer." -That's exactly what it felt like! The Fin-dicators made the gloomy, thought of Fall and Winter wilt as they spread some good vibrations with a mix of covers and originals. "High Noon at Low Tide," a song about Sandy Hook the day after Labor Day, caught the vibe of the unofficial end of Summer, which is not an easy thing to do especially with an instrumental. The Fin-dicators came right back with another original, "Surfing at Sunset" which had a fun, upbeat vibe. You could almost smell the salt water! Dick Dale's "Miserlou" absolutely wailed, as a few of the gals were feelin' the love that The Fin-dicators were creating, gettin' on the dance floor shakin' their tail-feathers. The biggest and coolest surprise was an instrumental, I should say, "INSRO-MENTAL of The Ramones story of hitchin' a ride to "Rockaway Beach." I had heard the punk tune, turned into a instro-surf rock number a few years ago on a cool, obscure album (vinyl of course), by a phantom band, The Ramonetures (a combination of Ramones songs played in the vein of The Ventures),and The Fin-dicators version absolutely rocked! Closing their short but very sweet set with another original, a bass-driven "Goin' Down," The Fin-dicators claimed the title of Best Surf Rock Band this side of the Sayreville! Hey, Parlin has a beach, right?

Mrs. Springsteen Shows Us Grace, Strength, & Emotion

2007-10-15T12:25:00.000-07:00

Patti Scialfa - Play It As It Lays (Columbia)

On her third album, Patti's agile voice ranges from hurt and vulnerable to bold and beautiful. This is a collection of sturdy, grown-up songs that would prove too much for the pipes and personalities of today's squeaky pop princesses. Patti is especially moving on the uplifting "Like Any Woman Would," and the downhearted but faith-searching "Looking for Elvis." Even with something as subliminally melodic as "Play Around," she radiates grace and strength.

Using a more bluesy, swamp rock vibe than her past albums, Patti pares away words like some of the greatest post-modern writers until all that's left is the very essence of the emotion that she's trying to express. Than she puts some of the finest musicians to work mixing and matching musical shades that enhance the lyrics structure. The performances sound confident and natural, not forced lazy or merely naked. And the simple attraction of modest arrangements - the subtle electric strumming that fuels "Play Around" and the climbing plea of Patti's voice on "Rainy Day Man" - createsa Stax ballad-style that is very rare these days. (Joss Stone or Lucinda Williams come to mind.)

There are plenty of reasons why rock stars, especially those remaining few with major label deals, don't make albums like this one anymore. It's risky. There's a knack to knowing when you are true to yourself, and when it's reflected in your music. Music is probably, no matter what genre, the art that hits us most physically. It's the art that draws the most immediate physical and emotional response. People are either thrilled with new musical expressions, or confused or angered by them. On her new album, Patti Scialfa delivers a strong cultural voice that is expressive and sticks to the point.

- Phil Rainone

BlowupRadio.com's Spondylitis Benefit

2007-10-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

Here are Phil Rainone's photos from the benefit for spondylitis research that BlowupRadio.com organized at Buddie's Tavern in Parlin NJ, the weekend of September 28-29.

The Wag

Scruff

Lloyd United

The man of the hour, Lazlo of BlowUpRadio.com

Kate Hart

Joshua Van Ness

Joe Canzaro

"The Boss," Jim Testa

Mike Grau, who not only performed but helped provide the sound for the entire benefit

For Phil Rainone's in-depth review of the benefit performances and more photos, click here.

Magic In The Night

2007-10-12T06:47:00.000-07:00

By Phil Rainone, Gary & Diane Rojek, and a little help from our friends.

Bruce Springsteen – Magic (Columbia)
Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band, Continental Airlines Stadium - Oct. 9

I started out with the intension of reviewing Bruce's new album by myself as usual, but it soon turned into something bigger and better than I could have hoped for. It started innocently enough with my friends Gary & Diane, their friend Jane, and I wanting to get a vinyl copy of Magic. To make a long story short, after some leg work and a bunch of phone calls, we got three copies from Jack's Music in Red Bank. From there I got the idea for a listening party with a few friends, a few days before Springsteen's shows at East Rutherford.

Well, it turned to to be about 20 friends ranging in age from 21 to about 71. Most were friends that we've known each other since we were kids, and have had our own kids through the years. We use to have parties making our own tapes (usually reel to reel, or cassette) with music from the obvious to the obscure, but Bruce and the E-Street Band were always dominant in the mix. Now that I think about it his music has been like a soundtrack to my friends and my own life (the good, the bad, and everything else that comes in-between.) And to sweeten the pot even more, Gary & Diane got tickets for Bruce's show the following Tuesday.

So, armed with Frank's homemade chili (it's to die for), Diane's special pizza dish, and mayonnaise-less coleslaw (I kept the vibe up with unsalted chips & pretzels), dogs & burgers, and a gazillion different beers, we were ready to par-tay! After a few stereo equipment malfunctions (never buy equipment from a garage sale), warming up the crowd with a little of my son Steve's MP3 player (Dropkick Murphys, Dead Kennedys, etc.), I put on some Marshall Crenshaw, than some live Springsteen from '75, the Born to Run Tour, which had most of us singing along. Part of what made this really fun was having Frank's son Tim, and my son Steve, and their friend Mike there. Like the Boss (Jim Testa) says, "It's always more fun with the kids there!"

So, after some burgers and a few brews, it was time for the main attraction. Originally, I intended to play the vinyl, but I couldn't get the record player going (again, DO NOT buy electronics from a garage sale), so I popped in the CD and the lead track "Radio Nowhere" blared out of the speakers.. To be honest, we probably did more taking than listening as we don't all get together that often, but Springsteen is hard to ignore. I was talking with Diane about the songs when she pointed out the lyrics (we were passing around the lyric book that was included with the album) in "I'll Work for Your Love." She pointed out the lines, "I'll work for your love, dear/ I'll work for your love/ What others may want for free/ I'll work for your love." Those words hit me pretty hard, and bought back a ton of memories. Throughout the party we swapped stories about different Springsteen shows we had seen over the years (I've only seen him three times - what can I tell ya, I'm probably the world's biggest procrastinator), and just enjoying each others’ company.
I think the one thing we all agreed on was that Magic is an openly nostalgic record, but it was a back to the future nostalgia. "I'll Work for Your Love" opened with Roy Bitten's piano with the reminiscent ring of "Jungleland," and "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" (my favorite song on the album) had the beach-radio vibe of The Beach Boys Pet Sounds era. "Living in the Future," like so many of his songs now and in the past , is intricately wired with outrage and disbelief. It's also given a new coat of paint, a hefty dose of lust, and is reminiscent of "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out."

Like John Fogerty's new album Revival ( we listened to it after Springsteen,) both artists (Bruce & John are 4 years apart in age), Magic makes no direct references to Iraq or President Bush, but the metaphors are easy enough to conjure up. The new songs may have similarities to old ones, but make no mistake that Bruce and the E-Street Band are playing and writing in the present. Even when he was singing about being "Blinded by the Light," or racing Chevys in Asbury, Bruce was never talking about merely escaping. He touched our lives with stories about how we make choices, about freedom and the responsibility that comes with it. In the end, I think the general consensus at the party was that Magic is a good album. We all took different things from it but one thing was for sure, we were looking forward to seeing Bruce and the E-Street Band at the Meadowlands to hear what the new album sounded like live, and what surprises Bruce and the E Streeters might have in store.

We tailgated around 5pm (actually car-gated because of the light rain and cold we sat in the car), as Diane, her friend Janey, Gary, and myself got psyched for the show. Old stories about Springsteen and hopes of
what the band might play encompassed our conversation as we passed out the beers and subs. On our way to the entrance, we came across a cover band (didn't get their name) that were finishing up their set of Springsteen tunes. There was no "boardwalk" as in past shows, but there was also a radio station van giving out some free swag. The inside of The Meadowlands Area reminded me of Convention Hall in Asbury with its oval floor area for general admission, only larger but still somewhat intimate.

With an opening blast of clashing guitars, "Radio Nowhere" lit the place litterly on fire, as everyone jumped up, enjoying the rush of musical adrenaline. Ripping into a booming, bluesy version of an originally quiet "Reason to Believe," Bruce and the E-Street Band pumped out a mojo-inspired, ear-splitting squelch, taking turns hammering out an unearthly psychedelic blues vibe that would have had John Lee Hooker and Howlin' Wolf smiling with glee, knowing that the musical mojo that they had passed on was being put to good use!

On "She's the One" they downplayed the Bo Diddley beat cadence of the original, and pulled out a blistering heavy twang. A fresh performance with an organic mix of distorted guitars, keyboards and drums as each band member brought something a little different and interesting to the thirty-something year old war horse.

That's one of the things that I realized throughout the show. Sure, bands have always been able to interpret a song in different ways, but Bruce and the E-Street Band are able to do the same but, they also add a different color, pushing and pulling a song, reshaping it with originality and freshness, like no other band that I've seen before. At times we'd just look at each other (it was too loud to talk), and just have a grin from ear to ear. This was so much fun! You can't fake that kind of vibe, you either have it or you don't.

The E-Street Band looked like a bunch of kids on stage, having a blast, and they gave us that same feeling. For years I've been trying figure out why Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band means so much to me, and I think saw my answer that night. Standing in the isle about 30 feet from me was a woman. All I could see was her silhouette. The band was playing a new song, "Long Walk Home." I couldn't hear her but I could see her arms move as she sang along making a connection. That's it - a connection. It may be a different kind for each of us, but it was a connection just the same. The music and the band was touching us in so many different ways that night and as it has over the years. For over 2 1/2 hours the E-Street Band played an amazingly fun set. For encores (they came out twice), songs like, "Born to Run" and "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" were given that special boardwalk-dance-party vibe, and "Dancing in the Dark" was given a more rockin' feel to it. The band gelled into a burning inferno of sliding guitars, crashing pianos and drums, obliterating the disco/synth beat of the original.

Oh, by the way, if those people at Verizon are looking for a new angle for a commercial, here's one: For both encores, my buddy Gary pointed out that the arena was lit up like a Christmas tree, not with Bic lighters (can't smoke there anyway), but by people turning on their cell phones! What a photo op!

We all felt they could have done just one more song like "Rosealita" that would have really fired everyone up, but the E-Street Band's rendition of Springsteen's Seeger Sessions Band’s cover of "American Land" (dang that's a mouthful) was great! Besides Bruce, with Little Steven, Gary, Nils & Patti on guitars, Swoozie on fiddle, and Clarence on penny whistle, Roy and Danny stepped to the front with accordions, as Max started the cadence. It was an amazing rendition, as they did their best Seeger Sessions Band imitation.

At the listening party and the show, we talked about old times, and of course, Springsteen and The E-Street Band. For any band and their music, it's all about how they connect with their fans, and how it affects you. Through Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band, I think my friends and I have been making some really good connections these thirty-some odd years.

BlowUpRadio Benefit Showcases The Heart of NJ's Music Scene

2007-10-03T12:49:00.000-07:00

Lazlo of BlowUpRadio.com at his successful Benefit for the Spondylitis Assn. of America

Blowupradio.com Presents a Benefit for Spondylitis Assn. of America - Buddies Tavern, Parlin NJ - Sept. 28/29

By Phil Rainone
Photos by Jim Testa

Singer/songwriter Bobby Strange opened the festivities on Friday night with some ruggedly plaintive songs that were earthy and heartfelt. Songs like "500 Miles," and "Stand for Something" set the tone for the beginning of night. His longtime friend Robbie joined him on stage for a few numbers, adding texture to some already fine songs including the new "Love is Not a Game." Covering Neil Diamond's "I'm a Believer," Joe recreated the poppiness of the tune, turning it into a more personable, slower love song, fleshing out a fresh vibe that neither Diamond or The Monkees had found.

The crew at Buddies was warm and friendly throughout both days of the fundraiser. J. Stanley was up next, as each band performed half-hour sets. "Daddy's Toy Store" was a seriously funny song about growing up along with your kids - learning about responsibility and what's important in life, rather than your own needs. That's the feeling you got during the two days of the fundraiser too. We saw band after band (some of the area's best bands donated their time and talent) get up on stage and play their hearts out. One thing that struck me during the show was that cynicism is easy. You can be a critic about anything, just giving lip service, but people who take action no matter how small or big, who keep trying, who do good things and bring a positive vibe, karma, mojo, or whatever you want to call it, will beat cynicism every time. That's why all the bands, Lazlo (of Blowupradio.com,) his wife Naomi, the crew at Buddies, booker/soundman Mike Grau, and the crowd gave their time, and effort for a cause that's important to them.

Besides some of the best original bands that play there every week, Buddie's also does other fund raisers during the year. Mike Grau's Christmas Dogs of War Show, now in it's gazillionith year and which benefits cancer research, will be coming up in December.

Going back to the benefit, The Dead Pony Cats set a harder, but still cool vibe, as the threesome proceeded to wow the crowd. They had that amazing mojo of The Plastic Ono Band going for them, but still stayed original. Besides originals, the cover of Bill Wither's "Ain't No Sunshine" was given a slower, heavy-handed cadence, remaking the originally somber tune into a more meaningful R&B number. The rock steady cadence of Buzzy on bass, Steph of drums, and Mike on piano on "Empty," with the looping refrain, "I'm empty" at the end, drove home the feeling of loneliness and isolation. On the flip side, the band knows a good hook when they hear one, as a Carpenter's opening piano intro was evident in one of their songs, yet they managed to turn the breezy pop refrain into a more "depressing spiral of hate," as Mike deadpanned during the band's set. These cats (and ponies) are an integral part of the now well-established music scene that has blossomed in the area. Their set was loaded with intensity, zeal, smarts, hooks and chops that are both tight, and that can at times zoom past you like a hopped-up amplified dragster!

Throughout the night, and the next day, most of the bands stuck around to check the other bands making for a cool vibe. The Heshers played an eye-opening set that featured tight, metallic hooks. The songs were like steel striking steel, squeezin' out hot, bright sparks! Melodic punk with the lyrical smartness of Shades Apart.

The headliners, Mod Fun, were power-poppy and impressively tuneful and have a spunky delivery. Pop? New wave? Glam rock? Yes kiddies, it's all here! Mod Fun lives up to the name as in trying a little of everything in their show. I like that at times they can be enthusiastically primitive and abrasive, but still have a ball!

The next day, like the night before, they had a "Chinese Auction"-type raffle with some cool prizes.

Joe Canzano (www.outpost100.com) opened the show around 2 pm with some righteous originals. Sometimes forceful and musically intelligent, Joe has a way of focusing the listener on his vocals, as his guitar mixes subtlety, blending nicely just at the right spot, creating an unmatched artiness. His vocals verge on neo-soul, but when he gets down to the heart of the matter, it's definitely rock 'n roll.

Thomas Martin

Thomas Martin offered up his version of alt. country with originals and a few covers that showcased his expressive musical vibe. Tom's played at Buddies in the past. He's kind of like the secret weapon when it comes to opening a show or being the headliner. He has a slew of awesome originals, or he can perform a covers set that ranges from the obvious to the obscure. His cover of Merle Haggard's "Back to the Bar Rooms" was like a reality check. His somber rendition was Haggard-worthy! One of Tom's originals, "Never Saw the Light," was strikingly personal. It's basically about not being able to see the "forest for the trees," but his delivery is fresh and somber. "She's Electric" sounded like something out of Richard Thompson's songbook. Tom's original is packed with quality lyrics and a rich, full sound. Great set by Thomas Martin.

Ok, so maybe I brought a few too many tickets for the Chinese auction, but jeez, the stuff they had like, five rare Springsteen CD singles, a Miller Beer cooler pack, and a whole bunch of cool stuff (a case of vinyl records too), added nicely to the vibe and karma of the shows. EVERYBODY was giving! Jim Testa (The Boss) did something original. He raffled off the ten songs he was going to perform. Ten of us picked out a song (I got Dylan's "You Ain't Going Nowhere" - Jon Andrew joined in on a duet), and he played them in order, including Loudon Wainright's "Dead Skunk" and The Mr. T Experience's "King Dork," that were lovingly dedicated to Naomi & Lazlo for the fine efforts in organizing the event.Jim's set got fun, funny, and funnier as he progressed. The original "Blowup Your Radio," preceded Elvis Costello's "Radio Radio" with Scruff (before his own set) popping up on stage to harmonize on the upbeat rocker. "I Was a Teenage Frankenstein," and "Greetings From Asbury Park" were in their own unique ways party starters of an alternative kind.

Josh Van Ness (with Jon Andrew)

Joshua Van Ness (purevolume.com/joshuavanness,) who had played with Van Ness and Soul's Release in the past, added an invaluable set to the all day and night show. His effortless, soulful vocals and pop accessibility of his music made for an irresistible combination when he mixed originals like "All Night Long" and "Jump and Run" with covers of Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl" and Hendrix's "The Wind Cries Mary." The latter song was given a stripped-down, beautiful arrangement that was one of his highlights.

Scruff

Scruff's set was like, well, Richie Havens with a buzz-saw for a guitar! Fast and furious, he spat out songs of protest, anarchy, and of course his favorite artist, Elvis Costello. Scruff added new meaning to the phrase, "angry young man" with his set. The torch has been passed.

Kate Hart

Kate Hart's bittersweet "Natural Born Wallflower" was delivered in a plaintive, strong voice. She sang with conviction about insecurities, and how people judge a person before they get to know them. She did a show at Buddies about a month ago, and she's improved.

The Wag was very impressive as the trio (two guys and a girl) weaved some tight harmonies on songs like "Ain't Nobody," and "Paper Cup" that were Peter, Paul & Mary-worthy! The latter song was intertwined with the New Orleans standard "Iko Iko," that was a lot of fun. Here's a seasoned band that put on a stimulating show!

Lloyd United

Ok, if the New York Dolls ever needed a ukulele player, it would be Lloyd United!! Weilding an electric uke, Lloyd had the crowd right from the get-go. "Your Modern Life" and "George Best" were so full of energy and mojo, and Lloyd was boppin' up & down so hard that you thought he was preparing to blast of into the outer limits. He must have mixed Bosco and Ovaltine with a shot of Yaeger, because this cat was kickin' out he jams on a beautiful upbeat cover of The Stones' "Sway" and his original closer, "Kick Your Melancholy in the Balls." Lloyd was just so funny, cool, and he had everyone clapping along to a few of the songs. It's was just an amazing one-man show!

After LLoyd I had to leave so I missed the rest of the show, but I heard that Joe Harvard, Alex Burmel, Mike Ferraro, Souls Release, Dipsomaniacs, Matt Fisher & The Telephone Junkies, Grover Kent, Mazeffect, Nerve Tonic & Zigman Bird, kept the magic and mojo going for the rest of the evening.

Along with Lazlo & Naomi from Blowup Radio, Mike Grau, Karen & her crew from Buddies Tavern, all the bands that donated their time and the great music that they all made, and the people that showed up, a wonderful time was had by all, and for a great cause!

Please visit www.spondylitis.org for more info.
Also visit myspace.com/buddiestavernbookings for information on Buddie's Tavern and www.blowupradio.com

Asbury Lanes Scrapbook

2007-10-01T15:58:00.001-07:00

Here are some photos by Phil Rainone of memorable moments at Asbury Lanes.

The Vacancies

The Tossers

The SloMotion Band

Amy & Dan behind the counter will have your order of tater tots ready in a minute!

DJ Riff Raff keeps the crowd jumping in between bands

Bombs Away!

2007-09-28T14:51:00.000-07:00

BOMB THE MUSIC INDUSTRY - Get Warmer (Asianmanrecords.com) Bomb the Music Industry makes a Godawful calamity on Get Warmer, and that's a good thing! Screaming and ripping through 11 semi-coherent noisefests (again a good thing) that are amusingly uptight, outta sight, and in the punk rock groove. It's hard to believe that a band can still sound so amazingly fresh these days without sounding pompous and arrogant. The whole album is like a musical punk rock therapy session. With titles like "Jobs Schmobs" "No Rest for the Whiny" and "Depression is No Fun." Bomb the Music Industry can switch from dead serious to silly in a flash, sounding like nothing so much as a teen birthday party spiked with Jolt cola and amplifier set on 11. This is a great album to listen to when you're dead on your ass, and need a musical pick me up! - Phil Rainone

FUJI MINX- Users Cheaters Theatres (www.fujiminx.com) Fuji Minx (Greta Valenti-lead vocals, guitar, precussion; John Fry-guitars, background vocals; Rob Zero-keyboards, backing vocal; & Noel McMurray Drums, vocals) have a sound reminiscent of Oingo Boingo meets Cyndi Lauper, and head out for a night on the town. The studied wackiness/quirkiness is hidden beneath solid cleverness, while Greta hams it up at times (having a good time) over the thoroughly competent music. "Cat Wine" and "Twinge & Shout" are among the most invigorating and engaging songs the band has done here. There's still significant quanties of campiness, but on "Users Cheaters Theatres" the wise-girl, dancy rock works just fine. The album reads somewhat as a play as the 18 songs are divided up into Acts which combine solid melodies and sometimes absurd vocals in a focused and fun tour de force. The record is driven by Greta's hyperkinetic vocals, as the band bounces and slides comfortably, leaving listeners happy and exhausted and utterly intrigued!The whole album is a streamlined and powerfully driven musical attack. This is the band that you should see live to get a complete picture of what their about.- Phil Rainone

MOROS EROS - Jealous Me Was Killed by Curiosity (Victory) Charming melodies sharpened to razor point, Moros Eros sucks you into their world with a blend of their influences like The Alarm and more recently, The Killers. Edgy guitar work, laid over a fizzy keyboard, it's the place in the soar system where pop meets punk, meets garage rock, without sacrificing originality, and adding complexity. Songs like, "On My Side," "Choices," & "The View From Below," are full of peppy melodies, thoughtful lyrics, and very appealing harmonies. The beauty of Moros Eros is the group's ability to be contemporary and traditional at the same time. They are very much into the flow of things both modern and traditional.- Phil Rainone

Halfway To St. Patty's Day!

2007-09-25T13:25:00.000-07:00

The Tossers/ The Vacancies/ Slow Motion Band/Faber - Asbury Lanes Sept. 20, 2006

Unlike some of the venues in the area, Asbury Lanes over the last few years has proven to be a hot bed of eclectic music (check The Yard Dogs Show the 27 & 28 of September - maximum Burlesque and Side Show acts), that doesn't stray too far from the genres of punk, garage rock, and rockabilly, with one of the coolest crews around.

On Thursday, September 20, Faber (myspace.com/faber) opened the night with a tough-as-nails set that gave us all a lesson in Punk Rock 101. The energy and vibe that Faber conjured up was amazing! Ok, don't believe me? How about during their wide-eyed cover of Dexy's Midnight Runners' "Come On Eileen," the drummer is playing the skins with one hand, and the harmonica with the other? Yeah, I know what your thinkin' - 'Why doesn't he use a neck rack?' Well, I don't know, but he didn't miss a beat, and they turned the somewhat mid-tempo tune into a jacked-up, jagged rocker with a cool cadence. They coupled that with a half-hour of originals (check their website to get a copy of the CD), that left the crowd wanting more!

Between sets, DJ Riff Raff kept the vibe eclectic, mixing turntable favorites like the Clash & Ramones with 60's Brit-Invasion band The Beau Brummels - definitely music from the obvious to the obscure.

Slow Motion Band opened with "Let it Go" and the crowd did just that, getting right into the band and their music, having a blast throughout their set. The rough, ragged vocals coupled with a big, open sound showed they had their mojo working!

All the bands and most of their fans stuck around for each others' sets, including a few bowlers mixed in. The Vacancies shoved their music down your throat right from the opening blast of "Compound"- which is a good thing! They played songs from their new album (www.thevacanciesmusic.com) that were brasher and brighter than the originals. That's not to say that the album doesn't shine - it does. It's just that The Vacancies don't do a by-the-numbers show. They fleshed out amped up versions that rocked time and time again! I talked with the band before their set. They said this was their first time at The Lanes and they were enjoying the vibe and the bowlers. One of the things that I like most about The Vacancies is, they redefine their studio albums (a live album would be great) with enthusiastic playing, and explore real-world subjects like "Funeral," "Save Yourself," and "Sick Modern Era," with a creative approach that bubbles over into the audience. The Vacancies are a band that don't restrain themselves. They come roaring out of the gate, right from the get-go. A fun band to watch and listen to!

By now I'm getting a little hungry, so I sashay on over to the food counter (their menu runs the gambit from tater tots to sushi). I talked a while with the cooks, Amy (www.myspace.com\njhummingbird) & Dan, about The Lanes and the mutual admiration of the bands that have played there. Like I said, this isn't your ordinary club, it definitely runs on maximum mojo that the bands and the crew help create by just being themselves.

The Tossers played their eclectic mix of Celtic rock mixed with 70's punk scrambled with a a good chunk of Irish folk music. By now the crowd was so juiced up from the other bands that the band had no problem getting a moshpit going right from the start. Mixing originals with traditional Irish covers, they had The Lanes feelin' like St Patrick's Day was right around the corner. Actually, about a week before, the JB Crew (Frank, Tim, Laura & myself) hit a local pub for a "Halfway To St. Patty's Day" party (love the corned beef). The Tossers threw in a creative cover of The Irish Rovers' "The Unicorn" that put a fresh coat of paint on an old Irish war-horse. They had everyone in the club feelin' like they had a bit o' the Green flowin' through their veins. You know a band is really good when they play a few intensely dramatic, quiet songs and no one leaves the floor for a drink. This is a band that deserves your attention!

Making the probably inevitable connection between The Dropkick Murphys (they have a new album out), The Pogues, Flogging Molly, and all those oh-so-good Irish pub (punk) rock bands, The Tossers came roaring out of their slower material with a vengeance. Seesawing through their new album with subtle nods to the aforementioned bands, they got down-n-dirty like a band with something to prove. Most of their music has a similar woozily romantic format: seductive strummed acoustic guitar, the thumping cadence of the rhythm section, orchestrated by the violin players eye-of-the-storm quite playing, all wrapped around the lead singers Dylanesque vocals (imagine Johnny Thunders growing up in the Irish countryside and learning to play guitar by listening to "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" with a bottle by his side).

One thing you need to know about The Tossers - this is an original band. They honor their idols but don't pillage their music. The spirit in which they were created is transfered into The Tossers music - their motives transcend any appearance of carbon-copy revivalism.

The bottom line to all this is, this was a great night of music that was enjoyed by everyone there!

- Fireball Phil Rainone

Pop Vulture Photo Fun

2007-09-12T19:19:00.000-07:00

Pop Vulture at Asbury Lanes

Photos by Phil Rainone

DJ Lenny Lounge and the lovely Miss Kit Kat

Deb Dynamite & The Torpedos

Big Sandy

...and Los Straightjackets

A Night of Music, Mojo , & A Few Food Memories

2007-08-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

Los Straightjackets with Big Sandy/ Debora Dynamite & the Torpedos/ DJ Lenny Lounge - Asbury Lanes Aug. 28, 2007

By Phil Rainone & Tim Norek

Debora Dynamite & The Torpedos opened with a blast of straight ahead rockabilly. Like Wanda Jackson, Debora belted out a cantankerous dedication to one of her inspirations, Brenda Lee's "Sweet Nothin," along with a Ruth Brown cover. After a few more numbers She turned the stage over to The Torpedos for a few instrumentals that just - GROOVED! They did one surf rock instro tune that sounded like a cross between The Munsters Theme and Dick Dale.

With Lenny Lounge (lennylounge@yahoo.com) and his main squeeze Kit Kat spinnin' the tunes between bands it was like a cool reunion of sorts. Lenny use to book the shows at Club Bene in Sayreville. He had created this wonderful music scene where retro-swing, rockabilly, garage, & punk bands were jelling until its demise. Debora Dynamite (aka: Mistress Debora) was a a part of scene and one of Lenny's hot acts. I had covered some of those shows and it was just an amazingly cool scene.

Los Straightjackets busted loose on an all instrumental set that got the Lanes sizzlin'! Ok, if you haven't heard of Los Straightjackets yet (if not than you're an L7), these four guys wear Mexican Wrestling Masks to hide their true identities.

Actually, they're four cool cats that play some of the craziest, maximum mojo, surf-rockin,' instrumentals this side of Tiajuana! After a fiery twenty minute set, Big Sandy joined them on stage. We had talked with Big Sandy between bands and had mentioned that this was their second time playing at Asbury Lanes, and that they loved the club! Although they didn't surf, they still enjoyed the vibe and the scene that The Lanes had created.

Opening with a soul-stirring version of Jackie Wilson's "Lonely Teardrops," Big Sandy proceeded to burn up the stage ( it's only about 20'x20'), with some of the coolest moves this side of Sam Cooke.

Ok, here's the deal with the songs that Big Sandy sang. He and Los Straightjackets just released a new album (they were selling vinyl copies at the show.) I picked up a couple of 45's, too, one being a cool cover of Joan Jett & The Blackhearts' "Bad Reputation" called "Rock En Espanol Vol. 1." Sandy had mentioned that they are going to do a Vol. 2 at some point. The new album is filled with covers of 60's tunes like The Kinks' "All Day and All of the Night" ("De Dia De Noche") or "Gimme A Little Sign" ("Dame Una Sena"), all sung in Spanish. It is quite a groovy album! At the show they played a good chunk of it, including an incindiary rendition of "Whittier Boulevard" that had the everyone boppin' along to the beat.

After a few songs, one of the band members would say a few words about the band, the songs, or The Lanes - but it would be almost all in Spanish. Now, Tim & I, and I'm sure a lot of the crowd there, had limited exposure to the language. I had, like, two years of High School Spanish and Tim about the same. You knew they were pretty much goofing around as they'd rattle off a few lines in Spanish, than you'd hear, "Los Straightjackets!" and everyone would cheer, then some more rapid-fire Spanish, then Asbury Lanes!" or "Rock & Roll!" and again everyone would cheer. It was very cool!

They switched between instrumentals and vocal sets a few times creating a nice balance. During one of two drum solos (what surf rock instrumental group DOESN'T do drum and guitar solos), the rest of Los Straightjackets would freeze in their playing positions so you'd give your full attention to the drummer. They would also coordinate their moves together once in a while for effect. It was all old-school cool!! The band's mojo and vibe is reminiscent of Dick Dale, Link Wray ( both have played at The Lanes), and that surf rock genre (yes, Frankie and Anette too), from the 50's & 60's.

That's one of the (many) things that makes Asbury Lanes so cool. Last week Tim and I went there to see The Bouncing Souls, and in a few weeks the Yard Dogs Show ( you gotta see it to believe it), will be there. The club is just so coolly eclectic! By the end of the night the songs didn't need any translation. The vibe of the music, and the band's mojo were coming through loud and clear! The heavy bass line and hard thump of the drums, combined to draw out the heart-pounding cadence out a garage rock anthem, The McCoys' "Hang on Sloopy" (translated to "Hey Lupe"), and The Swingin' Blue Jeans' "Hippy Hippy Shake,." - Very neanderthal, very cool rock 'n' roll!

Los Straightjackets, Big Sandy, Debora Dynamite and The Torpedos, and DJ Lenny Lounge all combined to make this an unforgettable night, and it was only
Tuesday!

Visit www.yeproc.com for Los Straightjackets, www.asburylanes.com for more info on shows at the Lanes.

Shades of Shades Apart!

2007-08-24T07:15:00.000-07:00

Long Since Forgotten - The Theft (www.redeyeusa.com)

Dang! If Long Since Forgotten doesn't remind me of Shades Apart (SA said they're sill together and may have an album out this year). Roughly sweet vocals over a powerhouse bass/drums/guitar combination. Quite a barrage from the garage!

LSF chugs along enthusiastically, awash in guitars (Jeff French, Josh Coy), and a sweeping rhythm section (Cales Coy- bass, Steve Stockin- drums). The atmospherically powerful and catchy "Hot House" is bound together with simple chord riffs providing a wide range of melodies, without any pointless grandstanding. There's a lot of drive and precision in these songs. The invocation of hard rock, and punk is subtle enough not to be obnoxious, but there's also plenty of room for innovation. In these times of pop punk bands that pretty much all sound the same, it makes perfect sense for Long Since Forgotten to add a little 70's revisionism. They are fully anointed as heirs to the post-Zepplin hard rock universe. In song after song, the band conveys their own distinctive blend of conviction and hard work. The album is every bit as consistent as it is compelling. - Phil Rainone

King Django - Roots and Culture (wwwstubbornrecords.com)
King Django has taken a unique, and vivid step in rediscovering his roots in ska and reggae. With members of The Stubborn All-Stars, Skinnerbox, The Toasters, The Slackers, and The New York Ska Jazz Ensemble, they trek out into uncharted areas of the genre-splicing traditional ska and reggae with traditional Hebrew folk. And it works! The mix lies heavily on reggae, but the other genres are definitely present. This blend isn't exactly new as I came across an instrumental surf rock album by The Neptunes a few years ago, with a cool cover of "Havea Nagela." On Roots and Culture they sing in Hebrew, so you're pretty much not going to understand the lyrics, but the music and vibe of the album comes through clear as a bell!

The approach here is more relevant than conservative, but the priority is that the concepts of both cultures are are that far apart. After all is said and done, what it comes down to is that a good time is guaranteed for all! Last year Me First & the Gimme Gimmies put out an album they recored at a Bar Mitzvah. I'm just wondering if the two bands would cosider a tour? Coolest song in the World This Week - "Ska Mitzvah." Yeah, I can see them at the Bat & Bar Mitzvah's now. They get the kid up on the chair and wham, the DJ cranks this one up, and the place goes nuts! - Phil Rainone

Got Rock Tonight! Ah!

2007-08-22T16:28:00.000-07:00

JASON ANDERSON- Tonight (ecarecords.com) Imagine if Springsteen played all his upbeat sing-along songs ("Rosealita," "Mary's Place," etc.) in one set. How cool would that be? That's the kind of vibe that Jason Anderson and his band creates on Tonight! Songs like the title cut, "On Vacation," or "Moving to the City" are all upbeat, party anthem tunes that I defy you not to sing along to. Catchy riffs, hot hooks, and a tight band that's been on the road since 1999 with very few breaks all add up to a seasoned CD that needs to be heard. Although this is not a very complex collection of music, it’s cunningly tricky; Anderson seems to stick to easy choruses, but once you get past them, there is an interesting story in almost every lyric. The band does get a little sentimental toward the end with a bittersweet goodbye ("So Long,") but they finish off the album with a gem. "The First Snow of the Year" is a mid-tempo rocker that just oozes with musical mojo. A good album by a good band! - Phil Rainone

EVERY AVENUE - “AH!” EP (Fearless Records) Each of the six songs on this teaser EP (their full album will be out soon) is infused with gleeful indie punk rock and lyrical heaviness without committing emo suicide. The musicianship on the album is top notch. Clearly recorded and simply arranged, the songs have a good variety of guitar lines to balance out the bright vocals, so neither is tiresome or boring. Lyrically, the album stretches the normal boundaries of songs about love, hate, life, etc., and the music is fun enough it let you bop along to it! The opener "One More Song" sets the vibe of the disc and picks up speed just in time to lead into "Where Were You," and the increasingly interesting tracks beyond. A nicely done EP. With the release of the full album, hopefully the band won't lose focus. There's plenty of intrigue here to keep the listener hanging on. - Phil Rainone

Boundless Melodies & Sweet Stories of Love

2007-08-21T13:47:00.001-07:00

Aiden - Conviction (Victory Records)

The music on Conviction is uncompromisingly tight. The band has gained considerable confidence since their Victory debut in '04. This is an edgy album with boundless melodies surrounded by not so sweet stories of love, and the nasty stuff that sometimes attaches itself it like anger, and insecurity. The surging "Moment" rocks with ingeniously well-crafted lyrics, that lead into "Darkness" with it's driving arrangement, offering an unexpected intensity with bristling melodies. Confidence is Aiden's tour de force, in that it could be played at their shows in it's eternity, without disappointment. Besides the sharp lyrics, they pay a lot of attention to mixing up textures and styles. Therefore the listener gets the motivated, semi- ballad, "Believe," and the eternally desperate, "The Sky is Falling." Aiden has a knack for writing about some of unforgettable characters. This is band that walks the walk and talks the talk. For Aiden there is no in-between, just black and white, and that's refreshing to find in a band these days. - Phil Rainone

Rock N Roll Is Still Here To Stay

2007-08-21T08:10:00.001-07:00

BOB BURNS & THE BREAKUPS - Terminal Breakdown (www.gearheadrecords.com)
Rock 'n' roll, especially the fringer areas, has always been awash with beautiful losers (aka- really cool bands that either implode or just never get the right breaks.) Maybe that's why Bob Burns and the Breakups are so refreshing. These desperately confessional songs ("Under Your Skin," "Some Feeling," "In My Way," "On My Nerves") reveal a band with little doubt about how to write and perform rock 'n' roll songs (I'd love to see these guys live.)

Like Mike Ness of Social Distortion, The Breakups know all too well what it's like to be a down and out loser; but also like Ness, they also know about the redeeming qualities that can be found in rock 'n' roll, with faith, hope and love as part of the reward. With the no-frills, aggressively bare-bones backing of Bryce-drums and Zac-bass/vocals, Bob Burns (guitar/ vocals) nudges the band past the crap that happens in everyone's lives, towards a raucous, punk rock nirvana. The Breakups pour it on in "Fashion Hippie" with Supersuckers-worthy rabble-rousing rock 'n' roll! "Real Live Girl" keeps up the hook-pumped, harmony-choked, power punk with simultaneously innocent, hint-and-wink lyrics, all about sex, sex, sex. All of which make for an unbeatable combination. "Thunderbird," and "Rip it Up," all deliver on their three minutes of promised ecstasy, while "Little Fake" will raise the hair on your arms, and should go down as one of the great punk rock songs of all time, that is, if you get up off your asses and go buy this record. Otherwise, this will go down in the record books as one of the great under-rated punk rock records. It's all on your shoulders.- Phil Rainone

KARATE HIGH SCHOOL - The League of Tomorrow (Evolution Music)
At first it was a little hard to swallow reading the band's press kit about the album being about "Sub-par science fiction and comic book lore without sounding trite..." but about halfway through with soaring melodies and crashing guitars as a backdrop, the album turns into a really good book. By that I mean it's like the best of both worlds where the written word meets the music. It's like those books that they put on CD, only music is added for better effect. In other words, it's a lot of fun! Songs like "The Secret Handshake," "Can't Hold Me Down," or "The Empire State" are injected with a sense of humor but not the silly stuff. It's on a more mature level which is sometimes a little offensive, but on the money, none the less. Karate High School doesn't soften or dumb-down the story or the music. Ingenuity and intrigue are found rampant throughout the album. You can't wait to see what happens next. The band plays enthusiasticlly, and I'm sure their live set is like a no-holds-barred rock show. The public in general is use to a lot less, so be prepared to be somewhat amazed!- Phil Rainone

Reel Big Fish Go Bananas

2007-08-17T09:55:00.000-07:00

By Phil Rainone with help from Stephen Rainone

REEL BIG FISH - Monkeys For Nothin' And The Chimps For Free CD/DVD(Rock Ridge Music)

Ska is a musical style that was developed in Jamaica that has remained popular and grown in one form or another for over 50 years. By the early 60's the original R&B feel had given away to a distinct new style, yet keeping the old-school flavor. As John (trumpet) from Reel Big Fish said during our recent interview (when they played Starland Ballroom with Less Than Jake, Streetlight Manifesto and a few other cool ska bands,) "Without them (Desmond Dekker, Marley, etc.), there would be no us!" RBF takes the upbeat genre and speeds it up a gazillion mph, adding overtones of funk, punk, and an outrageous sense of humor, on top of their nonstop hyperkinetic energy. Whether the songs are socially relevant ("Live Your Dream," "Will the Revolution Come"), or just plain silly (Party Down," "Why do All the Girls Think They're Fat?"), the vim and vigor of the album is maintained; and yeah, it wouldn't be a Reel Big Fish album if there wasn't at least one song that trashes just about everyone, like "Another F.U. Song." It's 1:05 min. of "Fuck following trends/ Fuck old-school/ Fuck new-school But most of all, FUCK YOU!" It's a real liberating song to sing along to when just about everything "Everything Sucks." The first time I played it for my son Steve, I just knew he'd love it. Since then, when we go on mini road trips (like hitting three malls in one day), it's a staple of the CD player in the van. He's also got it in his MP3 player along with about 50 other Reel Big Fish tunes to walk around the Mall with (Steve's definitely a hardcore RBF fan) If you can sit still through the 17 songs on Monkeys..., than you're probably dead! This is an album of both new and dusted off/ cleaned up songs from earlier albums that didn't make the cut (it's like finding gold in a silver mine). "Way Back" talks about the band’s musical roots, with a few twists and turns that are diabolically funny! The sequencing and production of the album is on the money. It plays like a completely new RBF album. "Party Down" is a kick-out-the-jams party anthem, distinguished by a scorching, metallic cadence, and "Please Don't Tell Her I Have a Girlfriend" is an accordion-driven sea chantey that rivals The Dropkick Murphys. Reel Big Fish tackle even more styles than in the past. While their characteristic rock/ska/punk/funk sound is prominent, the band also explores Sly & the Family Stoneland on "My Imaginary Friend" and "A New Vision of You." They finish off the album with "Cannibal," which manages to be a radio-ready single with a careening chorus and a flat-out killer melody. The DVD (running time about 30 min.), is basically a spoof documentary on “How to Record an Album, ” Reel Big Fish style, with Aaron comically bouncing off Aaron and visa-versa: "Today we're going to show you how to make an album. It's real easy! Step one: Get a bunch of people together who know how to play instruments. Step two: Write some songs with those people. Step three: Make sure they’re hits!" It goes on like that (you really have to see the DVD to appreciate the manic mojo these guys have), through the recording session. Oh, and then there's the jokes like: "What kind of bees make milk? Give up? Boobees!! Besides the band’s ace musicianship and manic stage show, they have a really warped sense of humor that is Marx Bros- worthy! And speaking of The Marx Bros., if you play Monkeys for Nothin’ And The Chimps for Free right after Groucho cracks his first joke in their hilarious movie Monkey Business, the RBF album becomes the soundtrack... No! I'm kidding! Just go buy the album, you won't be disappointed.

Reeling In Some Big Time Fun

2007-08-08T09:19:00.001-07:00

by Stephen Rainone

REEL BIG FISH - Our Live Album is Better than Your Live Album (DVD) (www.reelbigfish.com Rock Ridge Music) The intro to this live show is pretty funny because to me, they are making fun of rock bands. But Reel Big Fish never let me down because the whole thing is full of their original comedy, energy, and gusto! This is kinda better than listening to the live CD cause you get to (obviously), see what's goin' on and feel like you're there. I was really surprised to see/hear them play "Unity." I always wanted to hear this live and it was excellent! Now all they need to play live is "Nothin' Like a Dame," "Monkeyt Boy," and "Hungry Like The Wolf" to fulfill this little Rude Boy's dream. It would be so cool if they just put out a whole album of covers. Anyway, the DVD is just so good to watch that it should be fattening! The camera angles are intense and make the show better. My favorite song off the DVD has to be "Don't Start a Band." Also, John's pants down horn solo was great! He does have some nice legs LOL! Matt Wong's voice was so amazing at the end of "Where Have You Been," that he got to sing the last line and got the crowd so psyched. So since I need to backtrack, my favorite song on the CD is "S.R.," because at every show it just becomes longer and better. The best song on both the CD & DVD is "Drinkin" because you get that energy no matter what. So, if you don't have this album than this is all you need to get. If you have the album then you know. So as I always say in my reviews, go out and get this CD/DVD!!

Back To The Future

2007-08-07T12:26:00.000-07:00

MELODY CLUB - At Your Service (www.thesaturdayteam.com)

Melody Club are smart. They know that sometimes you have to go backwards to go forward. These Swedish hipsters mine the fertile riches of synth-heavy 80's new wave (and a bit of fellow Swede's ABBA), to create 12 songs that are a hybrid of disco, punk, rock, and new wave. There are a few quotable philosophical songs ("Killing a Boy," "Stranded Love"), but the majority of the songs on "At Your service" are more optimistic and upbeat. There are hints of Bowie ("Heroes"), and Roxy Music ("Love is the Drug"), weaved throughout the album, but it's not too Recognizable as the band is more inventive, using influences from the past. This is an aggressively electric album that digs in without trying to break new ground. Some songs hit right away like the manic "Let's Kill the Clock," and the icy ballad "Cover Girl," but it takes some time to sort out the ones that grow on you like "Breakaway," or "Baby." Although Melody Club soak up 70's and 80's beats turning them into the indie-rock mainstream hits, they do it over a club-wrecking beat, with a punk-pumped groove! - Phil Rainone

GARBAGE - Absolute Garbage (Universal)

They could have gone a few ways with the new "Best Of" Garbage album ("100% Garbage"), but I think the coolest title I've heard over the years for a "Hits Collection" has been, "The Worst of Jefferson Airplane," and runner up is Joan Jett & The Blackhearts' "Great Hits." So besides a cool title, Garbage has been on a modest roll for the past decade, turning out good-to-great albums that has dramatically beefed up their fan base,and radio play. Garbage's commercial breakthrough hits like "Queer," "Stupid Girl" and "Only Happy When it Rains" are actually impressive in that they're not run-of-the-mill hits. They actually have good story lines, and subliminal hooks that opened doors for other alternative bands. "#1 Crush" or "The World is Not Enough" explode into hard rock grooves with an eye on the dance floor. The latter tune is new as they band is back doing live performance, and working on a new album. One of the things that I like about Garbage is, they don't over-think the creative process. They have all the basic ingredients that go into a good song (lyrics, rhythms, and good vocal hooks), that are built around strong melodies. Garbage are one of the few bands that can constantly write good alt-pop-rock songs with an eye toward 80's New Wave, and make it all work. Don't get me wrong, this is trendy music, it's just absolutely Garbage! - Phil Rainone

A Day At The Summer Camp Out

2007-08-02T19:00:00.000-07:00

Summer Camp Out at The Starland Ballroom, Sayreville NJ - July 15, 2007

by Tim and Frank Norek (with help from the Rainones)

The second rendition of the Summer CampOut occurred on Sunday, July 15th, at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville. The Crew covered the event both years, with this year's Crew getting back Steve Rainone after being out or the area for a while. Complaints were heard from the bands about the heat all day, but it did not tone down the music, with about the best line-up of ska bands that can be had at any one venue.

The Crew first caught Midnight Tragedy, who did not impress Tim. Didn't mind the band, but vocals were weak and the organ was decent. Noted was the Dramarama cover tune performed.

Next up was Calamity Menagerie. They featured two violins, and had a fun, quirky sound. Also included was a keyboard and xylophone, and they played the saw accordion. Some crazy stuff.

The next band - and the first we all saw together - was Awful Waffle. On the main stage this year, we caught these guys on the small stage last year here. They have a devoted following and are really into the music. They were fun to watch, and they highlighted some tunes, such as “For You,” “Daylight” and they ended their set with the crowd favorite “The Bee Swat,” as the entire audience was swatting up a storm going nuts, somewhat like a swarm of bees.

Missed much of Flashlight Arcade, but they had some standard punky tunes.

The surprise of the day was with the next band, Suburban Legend. We caught these guys last year at the Stone Pony and enjoyed them then. Didn't realize how good this band was, ,and they rocked big time at this venue. Very animated, choreographed sets. Very much energy! Had a strong horn section, with “Lets Dance” and “Been Up All Night” among some of the good stuff coming from these guys. Reference made that they toured Thailand - pretty wild.

19:18 on the small stage. Some Rancid sounds coming out, some decent punk tunes.

The Crew then met up with Reel Big Fish for an interview inside, so unfortunately we missed the next two bands.

Got out in time to catch Streetlight Manifesto. Again, another band we saw last year, interviewed them at that time. Again, a great band getting stronger on stage. One of the Crew caught Thomas with Catch22 back in Nov. ‘97 at the Melody Bar in New Brunswick - the guy and this newer band have come on fire since then. “Going Down Tonight,” “Don't Know Anything,” and “Where Have You Gone” are some excellent tunes performed this day in the swelter, somewhere in the swamps of Jersey.

Next band up , of course, was the incredible Less Than Jake, a band that never disappoints. The boys from Gainesville, FL (and one a transplant from Woodbridge NJ) rocked the crowd, doing many of the their standards, such as “Joey Always Said,” “Johnny Quest,” “History of a Boring Town,” and “Great American Sharpshooter.” They had the wildest antics with a game show theme, more animated than we remembered. Had bald guys chugging contests, trivia joke contests, showcase showdowns, and general abuse all around. Front man Bob Bodar tried his best to be nasty, but tongue in cheek always slipped through. Excellent band, excellent music, lively entertainers. They ended with an encore of “Gainesville Rocks Again.” I would see them as headliners anytime, but there was still more!

Faded on the in between band - sorry guys - as we escaped into the bar for a short respite.
On to the finale, Reel Big Fish... Cranking up the crowd with “Sellout,” the trio of Aaron, Scott and Johnny entertained between songs, throwing out their fun and sometimes caustic repertoire. Aaron had an edge to him, like he woke up with a bad hangover, and then was pissed at everyone in the room - nah, but that is his style. Again, great entertainers all the way, with enjoyable banter. They mentioned during the interview they would play 23 songs and sure as hell they did - well, if you count the 7 versions of “Whatever Happened to Suburban Living.” They played the standard version, then harder punk, blues, disco, death metal, country & western, and Screamo. Funny bit, and the song was fun in every genre. They referenced their new album, Monkeys For Nothing and the Chimps for Free, and played a tune or two from it. Other funny tunes “F You The Most,” “I Wrote This Song About You,” “You're Outta Sight,” “Say You Love Me” and “I HATE YOU.” They played up that they will never play “The Beer Song” again, “enough is enough;” but eventually they played an incredible version, kicking it up big time. They also played a favorite, “She's Got a Girlfriend Now,” but not the off-the-wall antics they did with it when we saw them years ago at the Birch Hill; good rendition though. They would tease the crowd by playing Metallica, and played their standard covers (huh?), and ended the regular set with “Save on Me.” For an encore, they kicked out four more songs, and started it with the Bouncing Souls chant, “Ole.” Three last tunes were “Kiss Me Once,” “Gonna Be a Fight Tonight,” and after a silly farewell by Scott, ended the night with “Everybody's Doin the Fish.” They were outstanding, incredible ending to a long and fun day at the Camp Out. Enjoyed this band immensely, both in the interview and seeing them cranking out their tunes. The Crew hadn't seen these guys since last year's Camp Out, and this performance makes you want to keep coming back for more. Thank you boys - I think you passed the audition....and come back around, soon.

QOTSA Rocks It

2007-07-17T08:49:00.000-07:00

Queens of the Stone Age - Era Vulgaris (Interscope)
I haven't been a big fan of old-school metallic rock for a long time, but the new Queens of the Stone Age album just might help change my mind. The fifth album by QOTSA is the one you've been looking for to piss-off your Mom, or your significant other. The songs blast out of the speakers like a flaming cannon ball. It's so loud (how loud is it, you ask), that it's gonna rock you back to when those neanderthal knuckle-draggers use to turn their volume knob up to 11, and blast the crap to of their speakers with bands like Blue Cheer, Frigid Pink, and all those heavy, psychedelic, bands of the 60's. Not one to overlook a heavy monster riff, Josh Holme and these Killer Queens ruthlessly assault your senses, and along with some fine stories ("Misfit Love," "River in the Road," and the bluesy "Run, Pig, Run."

The music on Era Vulgaris is loud, and lumbering. It's rock on steroids with heavy-duty percussion, hungry guitar assaults, and plenty of raw, head-banging, muscular riffage. On "Make it Wit Chu," Joss revamps one of his older songs doing a sleazy falsetto over a lounge lizard vamp that sounds almost ridiculous, but works (Bill Murray would be proud). "Into the Hallow" is a surprisingly tender purple hazed ballad, with Homme's lovelorn vocals washed over a gently quivering wah-wah, loaded with heavy, thumpy bass lines.

Rave-ups like "Battery Acid," "Suture Up Your Future," and "3's and 7's" have vintage synth hooks like 80's New Wave guru Gary Numan. With all that said, the bottom is, you're going to LOVE how this album sounds!

How I Spent My Summer Vacation (Day)From the Beach to Red Bank to The Blue Moon

2007-07-12T13:07:00.000-07:00

Jesse Harris with Tim Luntzel (bass) and Robert DiPietro (drums) - Photo by Jeff Raspe

Jesse Harris, Sonuva - Songwriters in the Park Series Hosted by 90.5 The Night, Riverside Garden Park, Red Bank, NJ - July 7, 2007

By Phil Rainone

Sometimes I'll plan on doing a lot of stuff within a very little time frame (I'm also big on procrastinating). Well my friend, this one Friday I had all my ducks pretty much all in a row.

After doing some stuff in the morning I got down to Point Pleasant Beach around 1:30. Got out my beach chair, Yankee Hat, checker board beach towel (with checkers- along with my frisbee it's a chick magnet. Next time I might bring my portable record player and REALLY get those Summer bunnies hoppin'), put on some tunes, and just hung out for a few hour.

Around 6 I headed to Red Bank to see Jesse Harris. This is the third year that 90.5 The Night has hosted these free shows, and they are all excellent! Great view of The Navasink River, great vibe, and always some great music (check wbjb.org for the rest of the shows). They're also hosting 90.5 The Night's Summer Soiree on July 21 at the Stone Pony. The proceeds will benefit Brookdale Public Radio, and the lineup features, among others, Fountains of Wayne, Drive by Truckers, De Sol & April Smith.

The opening band Sonuva started off with "Beautiful Mistake." It's a song that's so simplistic, yet lyrically powerful that it could make you shutter (like much of Jesse Harris' songs). Like the rest of their show all the songs that were presented to the audience implanted memorable hooks that has establish them as a fine, up-and-coming band.

As the sun set behind crimson colored clouds, Jesse Harris took the stage armed with songs from his just released album "Feel," and some cool, road tested tunes. Featuring Tim Luntzel on bass, and Robert DePietro on drums, the band played some thought provoking and memorable tunes including "Feel" and "Where To Start." There must be thousands of singer-songwriters worldwide, and it usually takes an extraordinary sound to catch the attention of a crowd, especially with the distractions of being outside on a gorgeous day. Jesse Harris has that, and more in his live show.

And every once and while you come across an album where you have no interest in ever skipping a track, pressing pause or ejecting the disc. Usually such albums are so layered and complex that you find yourself adamant in figuring it out.

Jesse grabbed me by his simplicity from the first lyrics on the title cut, to his soft, undiluted voice. It sounds as if he was born with a guitar in his hands. At the show Jesse Harris and his band approach the world with a wry sense of humor, but a sweet sensibility, where he's observing his surroundings, gently poking fun at his friends, or confessing his feelings for a loved one. Such sincere music is priceless.

It was a night not unlike any of the past nights that 90.5 The Night has sponsored. Free-flowing music, with an great scenic vibe! Tired but happy, around 9, I headed home to South Amboy to catch Saron Creashaw at The Blue Moon. The club is like a musical oasis (blues, jazz, rock, and a lot of eclectic mojo). Saron was about halfway through his first set when he slid into "Sweet Little Angel," which got the crowds attention with some tasty guitar work emphased by soulful vocals. Saron is one of those musicians who reverts back to the old days when making music was more important than making money as well. He is an artist that spreads his music around the country one club at a time. He puts all his energy and focus into that moment, that show. Here's a band that has the power to put the blues and on a pedestal, and than drive their raw, undiluted rock and soul sound straight home.

The shows at The Blue moon have no cover charge. Besides Saron Crenshaw, bands like The Cobra Brothers, and The Gus Bardaji Group are playing there almost monthly, creating a musical vibe that is unsurpassed in these parts! Thursday's are Open Mike/Jam Nights (free also).

Saron finished up around 1am leaving just about everyone with a smile on their
face. So, it was a jam packed day for me, but a great one. A little surf, sand, and a ton of terrific songs! I need about a hundred more of these vacation days before the Summer ends. To me, this is what Summer is suppose to be like in New Jersey.

The Boss Gets His Irish Up

2007-06-28T09:51:00.001-07:00

Bruce Springsteen With The Sessions Band - Live in Dublin (Columbia) 2-CD set and DVD (sold separately)

Music is an important part of society, a force that has the ability to define generations. People look to music for relief and inspiration- and to help establish their identities. That's how - for the last 40 years or so - Bruce Springsteen's music has affected my life. At times it's been a soundtrack, and others an inspiration. A bit of faith is needed, but Bruce breathes the vital promise that rock & roll will help you rise above, despite your inadequacies, and give you a joyous feeling!

On Live in Dublin, Bruce & his Sessions Band (introduced on the Pete Seeger covers CD) open with a reinvigorated version of the originally somber "Atlantic City" (the DVD REALLY adds more to the depth of the show with HD & surround-maximum sound and vision.) Working into the cuts from the Seeger Sessions studio album, they throw an old-fashioned hoe-down with "Old Dan Tucker" (given some nice dobro work by Marty Rifkin), "Eyes on the Prize" (a tough, loopy cadence that the band slowly builds into an upbeat, New Orleans Funeral-style finish), and "Jesse James" (given a fresh reading with an banjo intro by Greg Liszt), with Bruce adding an electrifying vocal as the band kicks in for a hand-clapping singalong (the accordion/fiddle/violin middle, and horn ending adds mucho mojo to the live show.)

"O Mary Don't You Weep," as on the studio album, is a hell-raiser of a song, with Bruce and his rouguish band of merrymakers and the crowd on the verge of musical enlightenment!

The DVD is even more inspiring than the double-CD. Filmed in HD with surround sound, the film adds to the depth, energy and focus of The Sessions Band as they jell throughout the two hour-plus show.

"Erie Canal" has the crowd chanting right along, like a local pub on a weekend. It's got that old- fashioned, sing along vibe to it. In a perfect world this album would be on a multiple of music charts, including country and world beat. It's amazing how the band incorporates so many eclectic musical styles, and still gives the album a steady rhythm and focus. Traditionalist music is mixed with Springsteen's originals like, "Highway Patrolman" and "If I Should Fall Behind." The latter song is given an old-fashioned waltz cadence, that pairs Bruce and Patti (she does a nice Tammy Wynette-style vocal). A beautiful sight and sound for sure! Marty Rifkin's steel guitar that he weaves in and out of the song adds a sweetness that the original lacks.

"Highway Patrolman" is given quite a country rock vibe, kind of like Jackson Browne's "Before the Deluge," rather than it's original dark, somber cadence. This is so much fun to listen to and see! The back to back songs "Mrs. McGrath" and "How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live" (Bruce Springsteen version)" speak volumes about the war in Iraq, and the devastation that's still present in New Orleans, Mississippi and the other states hit by Hurricane Katrina a few years ago.

"Jacobs Ladder" closes the first disc (23 songs on both the two CD set and DVD), with Soozie Tyrell and Charlie Giordano (violin & accordion respectively) soaring in the middle of the song as the band breaks into a couple of chorus of "Down By The Riverside."

The band slowly builds into a swirling, musical vibe that would make Dr John proud!

Opening the second set with a fairly new (2005) Springsteen song, "Long Time Comin," the band embraces the song like an old friend. That's the beauty of The Sessions Band, they can transform a song completely, or just add a bit here or there. Sam Bardfeld adds some cool violin, and the "Sessionettes" - Lisa Lowell, Cindy Mizelle, & Patti Scialfa add vocals that are Andrews Sisters-worthy.) They add a rag time cadence to a doo-wop melody on Bruce's "Open All Night." The originally low-key rockabilly number is turned into a, well, a cross somewhere between flat-out, heavy-duty 50's Doo-Wop number and a rocker with horns, all dosed with electrified kerosene! The entire band gets a well deserved chance to shine, while Bruce is absolutely on fire, spitting out the lyrics (you gotta see the DVD). If you thought the Cherry Poppin' Daddies were a hot retro-swing band than man, you ain't seen nothin' 'til you seen The Sessions band rock out!

"Pay Me My Money Down" still has the fun vibe ("Wish I were Mr. Gates/ they'd haul my money in, in crates")! In the DVD you get see to how enthralled the crowd is, as they add in a little extra mojo, singing along on the chorus. After the band tries to end the tail feather shakin' number, the crowd won't let them finish. The DVD swings from the band into the crowd (Dublin, Ireland), as they keep the vibe of the song intact doing an exceptional version for another minute or so. A fun and exciting film!

"Growin' Up" takes a little getting use to. Bruce is well known for being an interpreter of his own music. With The Sessions Band, it seems like Bruce jumped at the chance to put a new vibe to some of his war horses. On "Growin' Up" that band goes cool, upbeat, countrified version that rivals the original. "When the Saints Go Marching In" is given a slow, almost unrecognizable cadence from the original traditional version. If you think of how The E-Street Band performs "If I Should Fall Behind" with Nils, Steve, Patti, etc., taking turns at the mic for a few lines, then that's how they do it here, only with Bruce, Patti, & Marc Anthony Thompson. It's a beautiful rendition!

On the traditionally spiritual, "This Little Light of Mine," Brucie and the band take us to church. Again, it's good thing that they filmed this show. Like the rest of the film (over two hours), and like all of Springsteen's shows, one is never the same as the next. The spirit, mojo, vibe and sheer all-out joy is evident throughout.

"American Land" is a celtic rocker (hey, they are in Ireland after all), that is like a cross between Flogging Molly, Dropkick Murphy's and the bands own take on what turns out to be a serious (fun) Irish Jig on the DVD! It sets up the finale, "Blinded By the Light." Oh, man! Now, this once fluid, wild romper is a world beat number! They play it like a wild band of Hungarian gypsies (the whole band is just... amazing!) It's a no holds barred, deliriously fun, wild rocker with Bruce almost breathless, keeping up with the Sessions Band's Whirling Dervish-like speed!

But like Yogi says, "It ain't over 'til it's over!" After that knockout version of "Blinded By the Light" they slide into two bonus tracks (guess thay won't be making another version like the original Seeger Sessions album) on a reggaefied "Love of the Common People," and the traditional, "We Shall Overcome" (a staple of Pete Seeger's show). The song starts with Springsteen's acoustic guitar & vocal, in front of a delicately quiet full band, bringing the show, and original Seeger Sessions album full circle. What a great celebration of music and life!

- Phil Rainone

Instant Karma and Freeze-Dried Soul

2007-06-21T13:42:00.000-07:00

INSTANT KARMA - The Campaign to Save Darfur - Various Artists (Warner Bros.)

This album was created to help aid Amnesty International's participation in Darfur (check: www.instantkarma.org for full details). Two CD's are chock full of Lennon solo covers that rubbed off on these and many other artists through the years, and probably for years to come.

U2 tackles the title track like a band on a mission. They what to get the message out there, and they spare no expense energizing the already potent rocker, as Bono and the boys blast into the chorus ("We all shine on/Like the moon, the stars and sun!") like they've been waiting for this moment all their lives.

The same could be said for R.E.M.'s version of "#9 Dream." You'd almost think that the melodic masterpiece was a lost R.E.M. song that just saw the light of day. Meanwhile, Dylan & Harrison (Jacob & Dhani, respectively), pull the teeth out of one of Lennon's most prolific, nasty, honest songs, "Gimme Some Truth."

Given a little more time, I think they could have fleshed out a better vibe, but it's a pretty good cover for two talented young artists. Jaguares also cover "Gimme Some Truth" with a more unbridled approach that's more up to the standards that Lennon originally set.

Jackson Browne finds an even more tender spot than John's original on "Oh My Love." His lonesome, stripped-down, cover is magical! Avril Lavigne ("Imagine") and Christina Aguilera ("Mother") give it a decent attempt, but really don't draw much from their limited experiences.

Disc Two opens with Green Day's punked-up version of "Working Class Hero." It's classic Green Day meets classic Lennon. Very nicely done! Jack Johnson ("Imagine,") and Ben Harper ("Beautiful Boy") knock out back-to-back hits with wisdom and insightfulness.

Maximum Mojo Dept: The Black Eyed Peas ("Power to the People,") The Flaming Lips ("Starting Over,") and Regina Spektor ("Real Love") all hit their marks and beyond.

On the original 45 version of "Instant Karma" there were the "instructions" in small print on the label: "Play loud." After the breakup of The Beatles, John Lennon as a solo artist was a major influence. His honesty and integrity are as evident today as they were back in the 60's, 70's & 80's. Play this disc loud, and show your support for a good album and a good cause!

- Phil Rainone

DAVID BOWIE - Young Americans CD/DVD reissue (Virgin/EMI)

Just after Ziggy Stardust had retired, and 2 years before The Thin White Duke
was to be created, Bowie once again reinvented himself. He decided to draw on yet another of his musical influences: Blue-eyed Philly Soul Bands like Dobie Gray, The Staple Singers, and The O'Jay's had been cranking out some fresh musical vibes all across the radio waves, and Bowie was no slouch in picking up on it on Young Americans.

The title cut, fused all the above with Bowie's space/funk R&B and a history lesson ("Do you remember your President Nixon/ Do you remember the bills you had to pay?") brought a get-your-ass-out-on-the-dance-floor groove.

Eventually, "Win," "Right," and "Fascination" became cult favorites, while David's duet with John Lennon on "Fame" had both going directly to bank, cashing their royalty checks for years to come.

For my money, Bowie's take on Lennon's "Across the Universe" ranks right up there with "Fame." A little bit more glam than the original, but definitely classic Bowie!

This reissue also adds to the Bowie legacy with three outtakes. "John I'm Only Dancing (Again)," "Can You Hear Me," & "Who Can I be Now." "John..." is a remix from an earlier Bowie album that was funkified into a Philly via Motown R&B ditty that would have sounded right at home on a Jackson 5 album. The DVD is a prized rarity from The Dick Cavett Show back in 1974 that finds Bowie pimped-out in his stylish suit and tie, along with his crack band that featured guitarist Carlos Alomar on guitar, among others, blasting out blue-eyed soul versions of "1984" and "Young Americans."

Worth-Its-Weight-In-Gold Dept: Cavett's interview with Bowie's in there somewhere, but it's more like a lesson in how to behave badly on a talk show. Bowie was pretty much at the height of his drug use. Thankfully, he pulled himself out of it not too long after.

- Phil Rainone

Music From Outer Space

2007-06-20T13:56:00.001-07:00

The Flaming Lips - U.F.O.s At The Zoo: The Legendary Concert in Oklahoma City (Warner Bros. DVD)

The Boy in The Bubble meets Parliment/Funkadellic meets New Years Eve! For anyone who hasn't seen The Flaming Lips perform live (including me), it is an event, to say the least, like no other.

Ok, enough of the build up, let's get to the music! In a word, AWESOME! "Free Radicals" is like a launching pad for the musical journey that the band is about to take you on. It's a high energy performance that's the equivalent of drinking a Red Bull before bed time. This is something you'll want to stay awake for no matter what.

WARNING! Do not take drugs or drink alcohol before seeing this video! About halfway through this raucous celebration of all things silly and fun, you'll get enough contact high to feel really, really... GIDDY! The Lips are like what Groucho Marx said about where they going to build the new Eye Hospital... "It's going to be a sight for sore eyes!"

"The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song" (about Bush, politics, and just plain being greedy) starts off quietly, than turns into a whole audience sing along, with everyone chanting a big and powerful, "YEAH, YEAH, YEAH!" that shakes the rafters in the Lips' hometown of Oklahoma City. Interspersed in the DVD are The Fans of the Flaming Lips, which range from mildly sedate to, well, just cooly weird. They have to be some of the most dedicated (and a few newbies) fans around. It's like the show before the show. Costumed caped crusaders, dancing Santas, and over-the-top whatever you want to call them (ya gotta see the video).

"She Don't Use Jelly" (it's the only Lips song I have, and they're only real hit single in a very long career) is one of the coolest songs ever! Besides the sexual comparisons), it's a celebration of the multiple uses of the aforementioned sticky goop! And then, there's the gazillion-and-one uses of... DUCT TAPE! This is fun stuff!

One of the many fan segments that mesh nicely in-between the songs is "Captain America Splits the Crowd." The good Captain comes out (his costume is purposely screened out, I guess ol' Stan Lee doesn't have much of a sense of humor anymore when it comes to one of his Marvel heroes), and splits the crowd in two, getting one side charged up, than the other, than combining both sides into an uproar. It's a beautiful thing!

As they bring down the mothership for the finale, and the band climbs up into it, the crowd bids The Flaming Lips a fond farewell until the next planet, show, or a hot dog stand near you! The spaceship was also used to open the show. It's like the one that Parliament/Funkadellic used in the 70's for their over-the-top shows. They also use a lot of confetti throughout the show, making it feel really festive & fun, like New Years Eve! You can kind of compare The Flaming Lips to, umm... yeah.. oh! ok! The Tubes, or maybe Oingo Boingo, but they DEFINITELY have their own special mojo, like no other band. This was The Flaming Lips first-ever live DVD that was filmed at the Zoo Amphitheater in Oklahoma City. Hopefully they'll dig back into the band's archives and find a few more shows that will help maximize the band's warped weirdness and musical mastery!

Sadly, they didn't include one of my faves, the Lips version of "Shake Some Action." This is the band your Mother never told you about, because she was probably too busy going to the show having a blast, dressed as one of a dozen Santa Claus's, furry animals, or otherworldy costumed freakss (kind of like a warped extension of The Rocky Horror Show) and, oh yeah, crowd surfing while you were home doing your homework.

- Phil Rainone

Wait & Hope For Some Wickedly Goood Indie Rock

2007-06-20T12:58:00.000-07:00

FAIRMONT - Wait & Hope (www.fairmontmusic.com) Fairmont makes some wickedly rock & roll noise! Studied and intense, they sometimes pretend to be Dramarama (and that's a good thing), using their evident talent to make a very enjoyable record. Catchy, anthemic songs like "Wait & Hope," or "At the End of the Movie," are written with tireless exuberance, and come from a batch of songs that are full of excess passion. Energetic dance-rockers with catchy melodies, period. That alone should be enough to get you buy this album. Fairmont have the musical finesse to pull off the fine balance between old school rock & roll and a more modern sound. There are no half-cocked ideas, or stabs at any type of techno-glam, or polishing up of the music. What you hear is what you get. Twelve really good songs with blue-collar wisdom (("Year Book" is a fine example), amidst a barrage of janglely, heartfelt pop rock. This is a band that seems to want global domination with these hits and near-hits. Plus they have enough mojo to make you want to check oit their live show too. Fairmont is a damn good rock and roll band, that will throw you a few curves and surprise the hell out of you at times. They have my vote for one of the Top Ten Albums of the year! - Phil Rainone

Note: The national release date is July 1 but the band will be having a NJ CD release show at The Clash Bar in Clifton on Friday, June 22.

Robert Gordon Meets The King

2007-06-19T13:37:00.000-07:00

Robert Gordon & Chris Spedding - The King and I (Rykodisc)

Ok, First of all, Mr. Gordon gets a gazillion points for the title of his new album, The King and I (referencing both the classic Broadway show/movie and his muse, Elvis.)

I listened to the CD before I read the liner notes, (being the music info geek that I am), and besides hearing some great covers of The King, the background vocals sounded exceptionally good. Smooth, bright, and at times used like a lead instrument. It turned out to be Elvis' backing vocal group, The Jordanaires.

Man, put them together with Robert Gordon, who reunites here with guitarist extraordinaire Chris Spedding and an ace back-up band, and you've got the makings of a superbly righteous, fun tribute in honor of the 30th anniversary of Elvis' death. Springsteen captured the sad sentiment of his death on "Johnny Bye Bye" - "A bunch of nothin' runnin' through his arm.")

Gordon's vocals are tight and well-crafted. He's lost a very little of his dark, mysterious vocal timber, and none of that cool, musical mojo that can turn any cover (Robert did a great job on Springsteen's "Fire"), into what could be pass for his own unmistakable style.

These are truly riveting, yet lesser known, riotous rockabilly ("Lawdy Miss Clawdy") and religious ("Peace in the Valley") rockers.

When Gordon & Spedding do cover well-known gems like "Don't be Cruel" or "It's Now or Never," they take them to a higher level, fortifying their sound with The Jordanaires pumping up the songs into sing along, good-time music, and go-to-church classics.

Robert Gordon played at Asbury Lanes about a year ago backed by The Rockcats, and man, I'll tell ya, their set was on the money! Mixing originals and covers, it was rockabilly Nirvana! Now, he and Spedding are playing a few dates (check: RobertGordon.com), and by the sound of this disc and knowing their history of playing together (it's been 13 years since their last project together), I'd expect the shows to be nothing less than spectacular!

Recorded in Nashville, Robert produced the disc himself, and this is the one the world's been waiting for. It's not a come back because Gordon's been on the road since back in the 70's, originally gaining popularity with smoldering renditions of Springsteen's "Fire," and Marshall Crenshaw's rockabilly smash, "Someday, Someway." On The King and I, Spedding's in good company with some of Gordon's past guitar slingers like Link Wray and Danny Gatton. Back then, punk and rockabilly meshed into one hot, sizzling fireball of musical genres, as punk was the bastard son of rockabilly's infectious punch through the heart of the music industry! Social Distortion, The Cramps, X, Robert Gordon, and Sonny Kenn all shareed that rockabilly mojo that Elvis unleashed on the world all those years ago, and brought out something fresh and exciting that's had been lacking in pop music.

Gordon - along with some newer local faces like The Supersuckers or The Rocketmen - have good shot at reinvigorating the genre, bringing it back into the mainstream and onto our turntables and CD players!

- Phil Rainone

The perfect soundtrack to summer?The Beach Boys, of course!

2007-06-08T09:42:00.001-07:00

The Beach Boys - The Warmth of the Sun (Capitol)

"T-shirts, cut-offs, and a pair of thongs/ We've been having fun all summer long." - "All Summer Long"

"After six hours of school I've had enough for the day/I hit the radio dial and
turn it up all the way/ I gotta dance, right there on the spot!" - "Dance, Dance, Dance"

"On my way to sunny Californ-i-a/ I my way spend another sunny day." - "California Saga"

I could go on... I think I will! "Fun is in it's no sin it's time again/ to shed your load/ hit the road on the run again..."

Ok, ok, I'll stop! But that's what it's been like for me over the years. Starting back in the 60's (my sisters Kathleen & Phyllis had subliminally been a big influence on me, as I was there when they watched The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, and they were both into The Beach Boys right from the start), The Beach Boys were slowly but surely recording the majority of my life's soundtrack (Springsteen started to add a few very memorable tunes in the 70's.)

But I digress. Probably your biggest question is, 'Why do we need another Beach Boys "Best Of" CD when there are a gazillion out there already? Well sir, I could tell you that many of these 28 songs delve deeper into The Beach Boys' musical legacy ("Hawaii," "409," & "Wendy" are among my favorites), and there are some new stereo mixes ("Let Him Run Wild" sounds even more upbeat and fresh), and alternate takes ("Breakaway" is given a fresh coat of paint), and... it's "Almost Summer" (I wish they had included that cool, obscure tune!) Other than that I have no logical reason other than maybe the Boys (Brian, Mike, Bruce, & Al - Dennis & Carl Wilson have since passed on), who all had a hand in compiling and sequencing this album, will finally "kiss & make up," and decide to record together again. I'll bet they have a few more really good albums left in them!

And for those of you newbies, The Beach Boys music is creative, has depth, beauty, groove, melody, and of coarse, they have that rock 'n roll mojo/vibe weaved into the texture of each song. The music goes far beyond the beach. It's the type of music that you can listen to from sunup to sundown, and never get tired of...

"What good is the dawn that grows into day/ The sunset at night or living this way/ For I have the warmth of the sun within me at night." - "The Warmth of the
Sun."

Ok, so are you convinced that this compilation is necessary? If not, here's another reason: Brucie just put out a live album & DVD, The Sessions Band Live in Dublin, Ireland, and there's also the new, really good Paul McCartney album, Memory Almost Full; and for all you nudnicks that think Bon Jovi is cool, they have a new album coming out also. So for me, The Beach Boys' The Warmth of the Sun adds more fun, warmth, and peace to the soundtrack my life, as I hope it will yours!

(Be sure to check out the 11 week Beach Boys Podcast, available at www.beachboys.com, featuring new interviews with Mike, Bruce, Al, & Brian, which started May 8 and will have a new episode eachw week.)

-Phil Rainone

Los Straightjackets Go Insane!!!!

2007-06-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

Los Straightjackets - Rock in Espanol- Vol. 1 (www.yeproc.com)

It's amazing how sometimes the past quietly inspires the future. What started out as a really cool childhood memory by Louie Perez turned into a dynamite disc of cover tunes, mostly sung in Spanish. I'll let Louie explain for the liner notes.

Louie: "One day in 1964 my sister came home with a burgundy and gray colored portable record player with a stack of 45's (The Kinks to Ray Charles) around her index finger ready to wage war against my mother's radio that sat on the kitchen counter belting out Mexican music all day long ...What I thought was a familiar tune emanating from Ma's radio- "Dizzy Miss Lizzy"- which translates into Spanish as "El Microscopico Bikini"- go figure, but when the vocal came in it wasn't John Lennon singing, it was some Mexican dude singing about some little bitty bikini in Spanish. But what was weirdness to my ears became a regular thing: hearing bands on Mexican radio appropriate contemporary American pop songs and give the lyric a twist in the mother tongue."

Phew! A little long, but on the money as far as an explanation of what this disc of cover tunes is all about! First of all, Los Straightjackets (they wear Mexican wrestling masks in order to hide their true identies) are best known as a surf rock instrumental band. They perform two tracks that are not Spanish language versions, but straight covers, originally by Los Freddy's ("Dejenme Llorar") and a rockin' instro of "Whittier Boulevard" by Little Willie G's Thee Midnighters. But on Rock En Espanol, they join forces with the some of the best rockabilly singers around - Big Sandy, Cesar Rosas, & Little Willie G. - all of whom contribute amazingly to the vibe and cadence of the album.

Some of the coolest 60's garage rockers (The Kinks "All Day and All of the Night"), make-out music ("Anna") and almost forgotten (Brook Benton's suave, mid-tempo rocker, "Gimme a Little Sign"), classics. Most probably you wouldn't think of surf rock as a genre with much creative room left in it (Asbury Lanes is one of the clubs helping to keep them hanging ten), but Los Straightjackets are up the challenge and take the listener on the fast track into musical madness, never losing you, or become redundant amongst themselves.

This is a surf-gone-mad band for all us groovy, hip individuals that LOVE to find that cool, obscure cover that just blows your mind!

Coolest songs in the World (this week, anyway:)
"Hey Lupe" - Somehow The McCoys' drum-fueled, bump 'n grind rocker "Hang on Sloopy" translates oddly, but the cool weirdness is worth it!

"Loco Te Pantina El Coco" - Ok, any guesses?! How about The Troggs "Wild Thing?" Again, go figure! They REALLY ROCK OUT on this stop/start neanderthal, no holds barred, knockdown, drag-out of a garage rocker!

Los Straightjackets is the type of band that The Warped Tour is sorely in need of: Amazingly cool & absolutely fun to see and hear! Hopefully, Rock En Espanol Vol. 2 isn't far behind!!

- Phil Rainone