A Global Army of Veteran Rockers

So Give Us A Record Review of Something Maybe We Haven't Heard, but Really Should...

Who better to help guide each of us into territories yet explored - than US? If you're anything like me, you are 1/2 frustrated never-gonna-be "Rock God" and 1/2 under-published mal-appreciated "Journalist".... well, i'll speak for myself.... that's what I am. So over the years, I've compiled some reviews of records that I loved that never seemed to capture the attention of the greater populus. I'd like to share a few of them with my newest family. I'd REALLY love it if you would return the favor! Talk soon. Happy Reviewing, and here's a forgotten gem or two making there way into some new collections and hearts. Kind Regards, Fitz

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Permalink Reply by Mike Fitzpatrick on August 4, 2010 at 5:48pm

Fastball - All The Pain Money Can Buy

Pop-americana classic. A fluke smash-hit with "The Way" put this trio on the fast track to oblivion... "one hit wonders" and all that. No one's heard from them since (albeit two more records after this one...). They're still around best as I know, but to Mrs. Smith in Somewhereville, USA... they are a faint memory just the wrong side of "now". Too bad. Mrs. Smith's loss. The record is absolutely jam-packed with hits. Every song could have tipped the scale in favor of "household name"... oh well, fate and karma never did make very good bed fellows. Imagine Tom Petty fronting Cracker with The Ronettes and a horn section and you're getting warm. Fun, Pop, Catchy, Soulful... tone and timbre that of "americana" through bullhorn and a pair of time-worn Ray-bans. "The Way" has its faux Mexican swagger... "Fire Escape" has the storytelling genius of The Tragically Hip close to its heart... "Sooner or Later" and "Slow Drag" punch up the introspection a notch... "G.O.D (Good Ol' Days)" is Motown and Stax colliding with John Mellencamp. "Out of My Head" rolls and swaggers like a country version of Elvis Costello... These guys shoulda been huge. The voice. The hooks. The songs and stories.... brimming with fashion, passion, abandon and intrique... oh well, fate may have had the first laugh, but I reckon that karma has some good things in store for these guys.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Fitzpatrick on August 4, 2010 at 5:48pm

SugarPlumFairies - Fruit Karma
Category: Music
Built from the ashes of Honeycrack (indeed opener "Wait She Said" started life as a 'crack track slated for their never-to-come "official" second record)... SPF is a glorious indulgence for the lush pop sensibilities and songwriting suss of autor Willie Dowling...guitar, keyboards, synths, multi-layered vocals, harmonies and melodies born of sugar and spice... all come together for a richly satisfying listening experience. The sweeping lush soundscapes of "somewhere inside" bely the pop-driven core of the record, but also add to the layers of this deeply passionate record... "Blood and Oxygen"... driven along on an electronica grind, percussive shuffle and spoken word interludes, that eventually lift into latter day "Sweet" tones... long after Chin/Chapman were out of the picture... "Love is like Oxygen" is a distant reference point. Playful and mischevious keyboards take the song into euro-pop territory before fading out for "Truly Believed"... muted/bullhorn-affected vocals against a stark snare/bass rhythm... slowly buildsinto a Robbie Williams-like ballad, all the while maintaining a sterile, semi-industrial aura... almost robotic... perhaps even hypnotic. "E=Nothing"... imagine New York era John Lennon fed through a trance/trip-hop filter.. 'the more i see, the less i know...'.... haunting, almost ethereal. Far in the mixa metronomic beat that reverberates to the fore about 1/2 way in... then mutates into a radio station being tuned tht echoes back all of the sins of the world as we know it. Immediately followed by "the more i see..." refrain again.... only this time the poingnancy not lost on the listener. A cautionary tale that our fate awaits us as a society. Beautiful, cryptic and spell-binding. Bradbury is an obvious touchpoint for "Something Wicked"... following "E=nothing" seems to give a hint that the entire record may be a concept album built around the rise and fall of man... perhaps... "Something Wicked"... built on a slowed down and tripped out Power Station vibe... cautionary, claustrophobic and lives on the very edge between ultra-house and electronica... before breaking intoa schizoid electronic freak-out... followed inventively by a glorious girl-group harmony-laiden chorus... satan skat... angelic choral sweeps... clashing together in a glorious juxtoposition of lush choral flourishes and manic, whites-of-the-eyes mania... and by the timeyou realize what happened "no more" has been and gone... thrown a party on your lawn and skipped town before dawn... "Day or Night" ... 2am strobe dance intermingles with a vocally dynamic performance that uts and thrusts with the drums and synths in an awkward dance in a dark corner... "you fake"... minimalist and sparce, but huge... powerful in tis subtlty and haunting tones. bubbling up into everything that trance/house/rock when mixed can be in terms of atmosphere, emotion and vision. "Nobody knows" is a glorious ballan... subtle percussion, sparce atmospherics and Willie's voice...pure, angelic and emotionally vulnerable. Just beautiful. Closer, "Me and My Machine".... unclassifiable... spoken, blues, eletronic... breakout, freakout... Bob Dylan through a vocoder... Tom Waits reading "The Word"... Thundering, stomping,grooving and then back to the Bob Dylan in a bombshelter bit... Tom Waits skat...silence.... done. gone. what a close.... to an absolutely fabulous record...one that's not afraid to heap on spoofuls of melody, harmony, creativity, vision and passion.... find this record and find it now. available thrugh 369 records. plus you can go to Jackdaw4 on their myspace page.... glorious.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Fitzpatrick on August 4, 2010 at 5:49pm

Jayhawks - Rainy Day Music
Category: Music
Forever the outsider looking in.... the bridesmaid but never the bride. ...criminal. Tell me one good reason why The Jayhawks aren't on the cover of Rolling Stone, selling out 10,000 seaters and selling millions of records. go on. i dare you. one. can't do it can you? you know why? there isn't one. .... except that American audiences are fickle, gimmick-driven and think that "The Boss" had the last word on 'heartland politics', that the Beatles/Beach Boys own the patent on vocal harmonies, lyrical melodies and storytelling in a poetic and simple way (maybe they do, but The Jayhawks are renting the space like squatters in Hampstead circa '75.... ) Simply put, american audiences don't deserve The Jayhawks. Gary Louris has one of the most amazing falsettos ever committed to tape... no mood unexplored ... no melody left untouched... harmony and timbre in a balanced and sublime delivery song after song... "Stumbling Through The Dark" (co-written by similarly and summarily ignored genius in waiting Matthew Sweet), "Save it for a Rainy Day" and "One Man's Problem" all showcase Gary's phenomenal range, control and restraint... each song lush but direct and driven by simple pop flourishes, masked by resplendent vocal acrobatics... "Don't Let The World Get In Your Way" IS latter-day Beatles... haunting and simple... pulled together by a gorgeous string arrangement that harkens back to days spent in Abbey Road... "Angelyne", "Come To The River" and "Tampa to Tulsa" highlight the Jayhawks deft ability to transcend pop and americana... into folk, bluegrass and country ( real country.... not that tight-jeaned wanna be a rock star sorry ass excuse, give-your-roots-a-bad-name country....) The drawl and twang equal to each song's unique needs. The emotions equal to their tales of love and pain.... country has always been a significant canon in the Jayhawks reportoire, but in these songs it is showcased in a way that really highlights the songwriting prowess that is only matched by the angelic quality of the vocals. Absolutely beautiful... still no 10,000 seaters in sight, but your life will feel that much richer by letting The Jayhawks and the magic of Gary Louris into your ears, heart, mind and soul.....

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Permalink Reply by Daryll Collins on August 5, 2010 at 5:16am

Couldn't agree more with your assessments of Fastball and The Jayhawks. Both outstanding groups that should be household names.

The general public has truly lost their musical compass. They are bowled over by glitz, bling and how stylishly a performer can shake their ass. That's how they define talent.

The majority will gravitate towards whatever is shoved down their pie holes by the music industry or whatever they're told is the next cool artist to fawn over.

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Permalink Reply by Harry on October 21, 2011 at 5:49am

Daryll wrote: They are bowled over by glitz, bling and how stylishly a performer can shake their ass>>

But in the case of Beyonce, we'll let it slide.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Kelly on October 22, 2011 at 10:32pm

Yes we all know how good Hollywood Town Hall and Tomorrow the Green Grass are but Rainy Day Music is another work of art.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Fitzpatrick on August 4, 2010 at 5:49pm

Music Review - The Wildhearts - Mondo Akimbo-a-go-go
Plain and simple... The Wildhearts should have ruled the world....owned their own country... had their own currency, language and government. They were THAT good! but it was not to be...whether it was drugs, ego or acrimony... the stars never quite lined up the way they were meant to.... and so in the "real" world they are a belated footnote in metal-dom... oh well, in a parallel universe somewhere Bono is serving them champers and the Chili Peppers are doing the gardening.... yes, like I said... THAT good. This, their debut ep... sheer perfection.... melding Rock, Metal, Pop, Thrash, Psychadelia in a way that had never been dreamt of before... Opener "Nothing Ever Changes but the Shoes" followed by "Crying Over Nothing" set the stage... catchy, poppy, punchdrunk and full of charming beligerence... .but it is the mighty "Turning American" that solidifies those "Pantera meets The Beatles" comparisons... Loud, Proud, Bold... candid and real... no bullshit... cards on the table... and no it is not a jibe at Americans... it's a tale of believing in yourself... being true to your values... standing for something. It is absolutely immense. Each lyrical stanza, middle excursion and choral interlude.... signposts to what would later in their career be seen as identifiable, anticipated "ingredient X's" of songwriting twists and turns. like a left-hook from a dark alley. Closer "Liberty Cap" is born of a rumbling bassline... haunting guitar swathes, and explosive juts of sound. Laborious and Pounding, Militaristic and angular... The way the guitars synch up with the fluid "shouty" line by line attack is a thing of pure beauty... and something that would be explored in more detail later on (most notably at the Crescendo of "Sky Babies")... the languid and fluid middle bit... ("leave me be man, i just wanna be on my own") followed by the out-n-out thrash of the zenith is a perfect embodiment of The Wildheart's take on life... a one-two punch ... one a suckerpunch softy... to catch you off-guard, followed by the one that puts you right into next week.... in my world Bono just refilled my crystal flute .... see you on the other-side. Timeless Classic.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Fitzpatrick on August 4, 2010 at 5:49pm

Music Review - A Girl Called Eddy
The epitomy of Sunday morning records. Easy on the ear, but not because it's easy listening.... soothing and haunting. Melodies that draw you into a melancholic world.. words that tell stories of loss, lovelorn sadness and bleak yet hopeful insights into a world that we've all visited... 2am... darkened room... filled with equal measures of smoke, sadness and desire. Songs such as "Girls Can Really Tear You Up Inside", "The Long Goodbye" and "People Used to Dream About The Future" all set a tone for finding the beauty in loss... the silver lining of desire.... unrequited and fleeting... you close your eyes and you can see yourself cast back to the late 60's... smoky doyens of poets... beat writers.... fine red wine... clove cigarettes... and a fashionable corner of Soho that has been long forgotten... but still seeps out of the empty corridors of places like the St. Moritz on Wardour Street. 60's suss... in fashion, tone, melodies, tales and overall a fitting early am, knocking out the cobwebs, sort of record... but just a valid a late night, brandy and cigar soundtrack... that voice! Lulu, Sandy Denny and Petula Clark all crammed in for good measure... the soundtrack to a photo shoot on the King's Road for a cover shot to be placed on chic-est fashion rag of the time. glorious.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Fitzpatrick on August 4, 2010 at 5:50pm

Music Review - Arcade Fire
Category: Music
The Arcade Fire Funeral (Merge 2004)

Is that a swarm of killer bees the size of a small country headed toward us? No. Just the buzz accompanying this release. Can anyone say media darlings? Ok, so they bring a certain esoteric quality to Americana (or should that be Canadiana?) Sure, they give alt. and indie everything a much needed facelift. Sure, they give the The Pixies saved my life brigade a new sense of hope as the 21st century gets its first few years under its belt. But, are they any good? Should I be worried that no less than 3 of the credited players on this record list xylophone on their resume? Relax. This record is a breath of fresh air. Describing it is a challenge, but the challenge of listening to it is an incredibly rewarding endeavor. If I had to boil a comparison down to its essence, Id say something like: A string quartet impersonating the Pixies with Bjork on backing vocals (and xylophone?) playing waltzes of early Faith No More songs. On Laika and Tunnels, this description is more accurate than you would probably think possible. Another band that comes to mind is The Wrens. In terms of pop-driven, alternative, everything and the kitchen-sink composition, they are very much acorns born of the same tree. What else is lurking beneath the grooves here? Wire? Present and accounted for. Echo and the Bunnymen. Present, sir. Joy Division? Over here! I dare say that there is even a hint of early Tom Petty in the way that some of the songs are propelled along in a jangly, Rickenbacker-driven fashion. But even with so much inspirational name-dropping happening, dont lose sight of the fact that this is a special record. Archaic without being fossilized, Revisionist without getting the carbon copy tainted fingertips of yore. New and inventive without coming over all John Zorn about it. It is beautiful in a fragile, recoiling from the light sort of way, powerful in its elegant understanding that timbre and tone can propel a song not just reverb, and breathtaking in a way that has each song reaching a crescendo that is uniquely molded to its calling. On a couple of tracks such as Crown of Love you can only imagine what The Wave or Let me see your hands in the air! would look like if done by the blue-rinse, diamond and pearl encrusted cognoscenti at a chamber recital. Inspirational stuff indeed.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Fitzpatrick on August 4, 2010 at 5:51pm

ok, that's a few to get us started.... YOUR TURN. :)

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Permalink Reply by Harry on October 20, 2011 at 10:06pm

The Crimea - Tragedy Rocks

This album came out in 2005, but I never heard of it until about an hour ago, just finishing up my first ever listen to this.

Britpop.

About an equal mix of guitar and keyboard-focused songs.

Great singer (guy) along with a lot of possibly female backing vocals (I haven't read anything about it, don't know who is in the band or anything....just giving you impressions here, the first play is still going on.

This is unbelievably great.

Every song is good, except for those who buy their music by individual tracks (like on iTunes, Rhapsody, etc)...track 1, "intro" is a skip....

It says on here they sound like Prefab Sprout, and maybe they do a bit (althought that is pretty high praise)...I'd say they sound more like a bank like Unkle Bob (who is also highly recommended).

Airborne Toxic Event might be another comparison, though this is more poppy...maybe a little less bombastic/emotive.

The best track might be "Girl Just Died", but it truly plays all the way thru.

If it is true (as it appears) that they haven't done anything since 2005.....well, that is really too bad, I hope I find some more...

I'll throw in an unfortunate PSA

Prior to the LP they also released an EP

Avoid it.

It only has one song that isn't also on the album

I hate when that happens.

Well...OK, I guess since I only guy my music as tracks on Rhapsody these days, that bit shouldn't matter to me, b/c I still get the 1 new track, but....you get it...