Category: Album Reviews

The Bottle & Fresh Horses

Artist: The Refreshments
Listenability Scale: 92%
Released by: Mercury Records
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

The Refreshments are back and I’m happy again. It’s been nearly a year since I got to listen to their debut album, “Fizzy, Fuzzy, Big & Buzzy,” and now they are spinning in my CD player with their second CD from Mercury, “The Bottle & Fresh Horses.” They may be a year older, may be a year wiser, but if a year has done anything it has made them even more of a relief to hear.

See, lately I’ve been frustrated with the music scene and a lot of the, well, for no better way to put it, crap, that I’ve been forced to listen to, mostly because I don’t think the industry knows where it wants to go. You’ve got industry types and critics spouting the new age of electronica, you’ve got older bands trying somewhat radical changes in their style by bringing in the new and hip producers, and you’ve got everyone saying that the country scene is dead. Then you’ve got The Refreshments coming out with “The Bottle & Fresh Horses,” and as much as I love the CD, will it get the radio play it deserves? I doubt it, but then this band has not been about radio as much as it’s been about one friend telling two friends, and them telling two friends, and so on, and so on.

I like “The Bottle…” for the same reason I liked “Fizzy..,” it’s crisp, clean, guitar-driven rock and roll with a story to tell. The stories are about being in love, being out of love, death, drinking too much, and being on the run. The melodies are catchy, the lyrics range between deep and funny, and it’s good to hear a band growing older, but not too old.

Intermixed on “The Bottle..” you find songs with maybe not the most profound lyrics, but they sure say a lot. The rockin’ “Good Days” gives you “it’s been a good year for bad days, or a bad year for good days,” “Buy American” rings out with “we’ll eat MSG and talk about Chinese food,” the bouncy “Birds Sing” comes along with “there’s a picture that I’m painting and you know it won’t be pretty, it’s a song I give someone else to sing, it’s a melody I stole from a bathroom wall, and it’s the words I hear the birds sing,” and the fun “Broken Record” contains my favorite line “But when you got back you still wouldn’t show me your brand new silicone boobs.” And then the melancholy “Una Soda,” which I can relate to on many levels, will teach you some of the most important phrases you will need if heading to The Refreshments most sung about country, Mexico.

Most of the songs are penned by Roger Clyne, handling the vocals and rhythm guitar as well, with Brian Blush (lead guitar) taking care of “Good Year” and Buddy Edwards (bass guitar) writing the likes of “Birds Song.” In the background but still pounding away is P.H. Naffah on the drums.

I love the fact that as deep as some of the songs are, the prevailing attitude of the CD is fun, and in a time when you’ve got lots of songs with no lyrics and songs still preaching how bad things are, The Refreshments are still able to take a message that might be angry or sad, but it won’t have you with the “me against the world” attitude, maybe more of a “you should bring along the girl so she can ‘lay high’ while you ‘lay low.'”

A friend of me asked who I would liken The Refreshments sound to. I was perplexed, mostly because it’s not specific. In their songs I can hear Tom Petty, The Violent Femmes, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Herb Alpert, and Hank Williams Sr. If that’s not a mix I don’t know what is. So I told my friend, “I guess there isn’t anyone I can really say they sound like. Maybe that’s why I like them so much.”

So, back to “The Bottle & Fresh Horses.” It’s a great second outing, and I’ve got a new CD that will be stuck in my CD player for months. If you liked “Fizzy, Fuzzy, Big & Buzzy” I think you’ll like “The Bottle..” even more. After all, you’ve grown up a year too. Of the 13 tracks, the only one I tend to skip over is “Buy American.” It’s not bad, but does nothing for me. To each his own I guess. As far as the rest of the CD, I find myself singing my heart out. So, 12 out of 13 and that gives “The Bottle & Fresh Horses” a whopping 92% on the Entertainment Ave! listenability scale.

A great CD from a band that is as much fun seeing live as listening to through your speakers.

That’s it for this one, I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!

After the Dance

Artist: Ronna Reeves
Listenability Scale: 70%
Released by: River North
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

I started listening to Ronna Reeves about three or four years ago. I was working retail, we had the radio on (I had it set to a country station much to the distaste of my co-worker) and I first heard a Ronna song. That was off of “The More I Learn”, her 2nd CD effort. Then, came her 3rd CD effort, “What Comes Naturally.” I like this CD even more and thought maybe this will put her over the edge. I even saw her live (great show) at an Arlington Heights, IL. festival. Then I waited, and waited, and waited. What happened to Ronna? I waited some more.

Well, finally, I heard some new news about what she was up to, and I found out she jumped ship from her old record company to River North and she was working on a new album. Then she was working, and working, and working, and finally there was a release date for the CD, and another release date, and another. Then the CD was released, and a single was expected soon, and expected soon, and expected soon. Finally, the single was released today, April 22nd, here as I write this review of her CD which actually hit the store shelves months ago. Maybe the marketing folks at River North are trying the opposite of what Garth did with his latest CD. He threw out a single months before the CD was to be released, then had the CD hit the shelves right before Christmas under stiff competition from a variety of others, and then saw his CD rise instantly, but then fall like a rock from the top ten. I think they are hoping just the opposite happens with Ronna, and I hope it works for her because she deserves the recognition she really hasn’t achieved.

Ronna Reeve’s latest CD is called After the Dance. After, in this case, is a good way to describe it, well, at least in the release time frame. After months and months and months, her CD is here. And it’s not bad.

Now, I love Ronna, have since I first heard her voice that first time selling things. I have all of her CD’s (there are three others), and like “After the Dance” as much, almost, as most the others.

The CD is your typical country mix of a few up-beatable type tunes, and a few “I miss him” type tunes. All in all, a fairly decent mix of both, but as much as I like the CD as a whole, nothing on the CD reaches out, grabs me, and makes me want to listen to it over and over. I really wish there was, the fan that I am, but there isn’t.

Ronna enlists the songwriting talents of Diane Warren, Neal Coty, and Randy Vanwarmer to name a few. She even tries her hand at songwriting, in collaboration with Jimmy Grubbs on a decent song called “One Way Ticket.” On the CD, I would say the the strongest songs are the slower, ballad type songs. “Collect From Wichita” has some single potential, as does “Next Train Out.” What the album lacks, however, is that one catchy song needed to propel an artist to the next level.

Of those type songs, I think Rodeo Man is pretty cool too, and you can maybe even can dance to it, but of everything on the CD, it seems River North is releasing the one song I really didn’t care for – “My Heart Wasn’t In It.” It’s not your typical love-type song, and I’d probably give it a five but you can’t really dance to it. Maybe that’s going along with their marketing strategy of starting slow and trying to build up momentum on the CD. We’ll just have to wait and see if it works.

Well, as much as I love Ronna Reeves, think she has one of the best voices on radio (and live), and admire her determination, I still have to remain objective. I don’t think that “After the Dance” is her best material, and as much as I hope I’m wrong, I don’t see this as the CD that will put her into the number of elite country ladies who are taking the country by storm every day. I really hope I’m wrong – have I said that enough. I think her chance came on “What Comes Naturally,” but her management and/or record company, whomever fault it was, missed the boat, were late for the plane, were caught in traffic, kicked the ball wide and to the right, or forgot to eat a healthy breakfast. In other words, they just plain missed the opportunity. This would have been a good follow-up record for legions of fans, but unfortunately most of her would-be fans have never heard of her, and without the one solid single off of After the Dance, they still won’t know what a talent they are missing. At least a few of us do.

In the end, “After the Dance” just misses, at least for me. It’s a good effort by a great talent, and I would recommend picking it up, but even though I rushed out to buy it right away, the big fan that I am (yes, I’ve had this CD for months), in the end it could have waited a little while. Oh well. Good luck Ronna, your time is near – I wish it was now. I give “After the Dance” a 70% on the Entertainment Ave! Listenability Scale.

The Presidents of the United States of America

Artist: The Presidents of the United States of America
Listenability Scale: 75%
Released by: Atlantic Records
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Here’s a band that pretty much says you can write a song about anything. The hits off this CD were the catchy “Lump” and “Peaches,” but those aren’t the songs that really highlight my first sentence, I mean, you get songs about a “Kitty,” a “Boll Weevil,” a “Dune Buggy,” the man on the “Back Porch,” and being “Naked and Famous.” Punchy lyrics with a sound mixing punk and grunge all at the same time, you get, what they call, “two-string basiter” from Chris Ballew, “three-string guitbass” from Dave Dederer, and “no-string drum” from Jason Finn. That pretty much should tell you that intricate musical numbers are not to be found here, but if you’re looking for a rockin’ good time, you can’t go too wrong with these Presidents.

Entertaining, this one hits 75% on the Entertainment Ave! listenability scale.

That’s it for this quick review! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Hello

Artist: Poe
Listenability Scale: 70%
Released by: Atlantic Records
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

The dudette’s name is Poe. Nope, her parents weren’t psycho Edgar Allen Poe fans, it turns out she was a psycho Edgar Allen Poe fan, and through her own trials and tribulations ended up with a CD called Hello. She enlists thousands and thousands of musicians and producer types, alright, just a dozen or two, and came up with an alternative, kinda pop, kinda jazzy sometimes, kinda rock, kinda a whole bunch of influences on a CD packed with music showing scary times on the street and scary times with boyfriends/guys and a touch of hope.

Personally, I think its hard to classify Poe, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. You could sit and enjoy a little cappuccino listening to “Fingertips,” but if your shuffle-play puts “Trigger Happy Jack” next, your heart might hit over-drive. The CD never really hits a style, not really ever a rocker, not really ever an alternativer, not really ever a jazzer, but sometimes it is scary. There’s a lot of dark messages in her lyrics: “there’s nothing more sadistic than an infant waving his pistol in my face” from “Trigger Happy Jack,” love messages: “Let it be me, let me be your love” from “Fingertips, and psychotic messages: “I wanna kill you, I wanna blow you away” from “Angry Johnny.” I’m scared, but I keep listening.

You know, as musically pleasing this CD is, you really need to listen to it to hear lyrics that at first seem thrown together, but in the end there is a meaning, a deep one, in each of them.

Poe’s Hello gets 70% on the Entertainment Ave! listenability scale.

That’s it for this time. I’m The Dude on the Right. L8R!

Blowing Goats

Artist: Piranha Man
Listenability Scale: 100%
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

They are songs you know and love. They are songs you think you pretty much know all of the words to. They are songs that are standing up to the test of time. They are songs, sung, like you have never heard before. The CD is called “Blowing Goats,” yea, that’s right, “Blowing Goats,” and it’s from Piranha Man.

Who the hell is Piranha Man you may ask? Well, radio listeners in Chicago and some in Los Angeles may have heard him as the Pakistani on Jonathon Brandmeier’s Radio Showgram. Most others probably have never heard of him. But if you get “Blowing Goats” you will never forget him and more importantly, the classics he sings will never be the same.

On “Blowing Goats” we find that Piranha Man has a sense of rhythm yet none of it matches the songs he sings. On “Blowing Goats” we find that Piranha Man has a marvelous vocal range yet most of the notes he sings don’t match the music. And on “Blowing Goats” we find that Piranha Man knows most of the words, just sometimes he doesn’t sing them where they belong. And yet, with all of this, I can’t stop listening. Why? For me it is just that the CD is so over the top that you wonder where the next wrong note will be, you wonder if Piranha Man will be able to get at least close to that high note in “I Will Always Love You,” you wonder when the lyrics in “My Way” changed just a little, and you wonder if you sound that way when you sing. Sadly, you probably do, except without the Pakistani accent.

I won’t go much more into “Blowing Goats” except to ask some questions. Can one man give new meaning to Van Halen’s “Jump” yet still exhibit the vocal range needed for “I Will Always Love You?” Can one man have the musical rhythm to let a Tom Jones’ “Delilah” flow yet still give Rocky inspiration covering “Eye of the Tiger?” Can one man relate the touching tale of “Cat’s In The Cradle” yet still exhibit the excitement of a “Viva Las Vegas?” Is that one man Piranha Man? No. But do I highly recommend the CD “Blowing Goats? Definitely, most definitely.

Now as much as I loved “Blowing Goats” (Boy, does that sentence start out wrong!), I do have one complaint – some of the songs are just snippets. Take “What’s New, Pussycat?” which clocks in at fifteen seconds. Music aficionados may find this rendition fifteen seconds too long, but not me. I was so looking forward to Piranha Man continuing into “Pussycat, Pussycat, I love you. Yes, I do?” as only Piranha Man could sing it, but sadly the song faded quickly. Not to worry, though, an imperfect cover of “Love Will Keep Us Together” will have you quickly getting over the “Pussycat” disappointment. You will never forget the lyric “Jump,” you will sing “Viva Las Vegas” just a little bit faster than Elvis, and the next time you sing “Margaritaville” it probably won’t sound anything like Jimmy Buffett, but you know what, it probably never did anyway – it probably sounded a little bit more like Piranha Man than you’d like to admit.

I give “Blowing Goats” from Piranha Man a 100% on the Entertainment Ave! listenability scale. It is like nothing you will probably ever hear on CD unless you try to cover the songs yourself.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

A Dude note: You might read this review and be dying to find the CD, but sadly it’s out of print. I hope you can find it somewhere because it’s nothing like you have ever heard before! DOTR

I Robot

Artist: The Alan Parsons Project
Listenability Scale: 90%
Released by: Arista Records
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

This was a thrill to listen to again, and another one of those CD’s best played at a little louder volume. Why, well, kinda like classical music, The Alan Parsons Project likes to have a wide range from soft music to loud, and to appreciate the nuances of the softer sounds, it’s better to have the stereo up, and let yourself get blown away when they hit a crescendo. A simple case in point for this CD is the opening instrumental, “I Robot.” Personally my favorite on the CD is “Day After Day (The Show Must Go On)”, but as a whole “I Robot” is one of those CD’s that doesn’t disappoint me no matter how many times I listen to it.

Let yourself drift away in some of the dreamy instrumentals, and realize that one day the robots will figure out they are smarter than us, even if we program them not to kill us. Hopefully that will be our ancestor’s problem. It’s 90% on the Entertainment Ave! listenability scale.

That’s it for this quick review! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Spiritual Machines

Artist: Our Lady Peace
Listenability Scale: 75%
Released by: Columbia Records
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

I forgot I had this CD until I started this project, but I’m so glad I found it. Written around the concept that one day computers will be smarter than we are, “Spiritual Machines” really shows Our Lady Peace are their creative best. “Life” is just one of those fun songs to sing along to, and if you are an Our Lady Peace fan, I’m pretty sure this CD is right up there as some of their better and more ambitious works.

I could have done without the Ray Kurzweil’s (he’s the dude who wrote “The Age of Spiritual Machines – When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence” which the concept of the CD comes from) spoken word passages, although I do understand its use far as the concept of the album goes. Still, the music really leads you through the story Raine Maida and the rest of the band wants to tell.

Dumping out the Kurzweil tracks, that leaves “Spiritual Machines” at about a 75% on the Entertainment Ave! listenability scale.

That’s it for this quick review! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

You Gotta Love That

Artist: Neal McCoy
Listenability Scale: 95%
Released by: Atlantic Records
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

One of the best live country acts I’ve seen is Neal McCoy, and the reason I went to see him in the first place is because of this CD. The title track “You Gotta Love That” was the song that got me hooked, but pretty much every song on this CD gets my country groove going. Like a lot of country, you get some depressing songs, but he’s got enough upbeat things on here to quit crying in your glass of whiskey and get up and dance a little. It’s a 95% on the Entertainment Ave! listenability scale for “You Gotta Love That”

That’s it for this quick review! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Far From Over

Artist: Edwin McCain
Listenability Scale: 60%
Released by: Atlantic Records
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Most people know “Edwin McCain” for the hit song “I’ll Be,” but over the years he and his band have built a large and loyal fan base, so good for them. As far as “Far From Over,” for me it was okay, nothing special, but I suppose if you’re an Edwin McCain fan you might disagree. It’s got some standard sounding adult contemporary songs, some standard sounding love songs, and an ode to mom.

For me it’s a 60% on the Entertainment Ave! listenability scale. Good background music.

That’s it for this quick review! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Exile on Mainstream

Artist: Matchbox Twenty
Listenability Scale: 95%
Released by: Atlantic Records
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Having been a big Matchbox Twenty fan since the early days when they were matchbox 20, I was always sort of surprised that I didn’t follow the solo career of Rob Thomas. It’s not that I didn’t like his solo stuff because I did, but in any case, when I heard a rumor that the boys, less one Adam Gaynor, were going to release a Greatest Hits CD, my initial reaction what a less than whole-hearty “Whoop-De-Doo.” I said to myself, “Self, it would have been nice for them to get the gang back together and put out an album rather than a CD of stuff I already own.” Then I saw the real press release for “Exile on Mainstream,” and I had a little more hope because it was announced that in addition to the eleven “greatest hits” songs, the boys actually went back into the studio coming out with six new songs (and a seventh cover tune if you did the iTunes download/presale), for what I have a feeling has to be one of the highest ratios of “new songs” to “greatest hit songs” ever, at a whopping 35-39% depending on the version you bought.

And you know what? Chicken-butt. Oh wait, I mean, the six songs were a refreshing beginning to a slightly different sound yet still reminiscent of the matchbox 20 music I really liked. From the rollicking and kick-ass work-out song “How Far We’ve Come,” to the bouncier “I’ll Believe You When,” you can already see the new songs fitting right into a concert. “All Your Reasons” sounded like it was just a blast of fun to record and has a super-easy sing-along for the crowd to get going, and “If I Fall” keeps the up-tempo attitude. But the new songs aren’t all about rockin’, there’s a slow-down with the reflection on “These Hard Times” and a bluesier feel with “Can’t Let You Go.” The iTunes bonus track of a cover of The Kinks “Come Dancing” shows that it’s true, Rob Thomas is no Ray Davies, but it’s still a fun take on a classic.

As far as the greatest hits tunes they are all of the Top 40 hits for the Matchbox Twenty, sans “Long Day” which wasn’t a huge radio hit but did get them noticed enough until “Push” launched them out of playing a place like the 200 capacity Schubas in Chicago and on to major arenas. The songs span the Matchbox Twenty CD collection, from the aforementioned “Long Day” to “Bright Lights,” with the emphasis on their first CD, “Yourself or Someone Like You” getting five songs, and three each from “Mad Season” and “More Than You Think You Are.”

Whereas most other Greatest Hits collections will make you technically re-purchase nine songs just to get the one new song (which many times isn’t really new, just a song that wasn’t released before), I have got to give the boys of Matchbox Twenty a lot of credit for tossing in six solid new songs, various packaging options depending on the level of fan you might be, and also give fans new hope for a tour. Of the songs on the CDs the only one I don’t really care for, and I never really did care for it, is “Disease.” Just a personal preference issue I guess, and so, with that, “Exile on Mainstream” gets 95% on the Entertainment Ave! Listenability Scale, and thanks to the legal download nation, if you don’t want the old stuff you already own, and you’re a Matchbox Twenty fan, do yourself a favor and at least spend the $5.94 or so to get the new songs you don’t own yet.

It’s good to hear the boys (at least most of them) back together, I’d like to do an interview now and ask them “What do you like most about the last car you bought?”, and I wonder if Rob Thomas has used a highway off-ramp to write a song lately. Since the new music was written by the four of them, maybe they could all hit an off-ramp! Me, I’m still just hoping they can write something to get David Hasslehoff back on the charts. How F-d up would that be?

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!