Category: Album Reviews

Accident of Birth

Artist: Bruce Dickinson
Listenability Scale: 80%
Released by: CMC International
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

I must say that I’m not a big Iron Maiden fan, but I do appreciate their role in heavy metal history. Listening to “Accident of Birth” you hear a lot of the Iron Maiden influence (as well you should with Bruce being the lead singer for them, then leaving the band, and as of this time back with the band), but there are some differences that leave Bruce on his own. Pretty much if you are an Iron Maiden fan I don’t think can really do wrong picking up this CD. Lots of driving guitar, lots of yelling, lots of dark images, but isn’t that what you would want from him Dickinson. I’m not a huge fan, but I did enjoy this CD for what it’s worth, so I’ll give it an 80% on the Entertainment Ave! listenability scale.

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

Purpendicular

Artist: Deep Purple
Listenability Scale: 80%
Released by: CMC International
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Left

Deep Purple is a band I really enjoyed during the early eighties, but I just kinda lost interest in the early nineties. When I heard I was going to review the new Deep Purple album, “Purpendicular,” I wasn’t sure what to expect. The last Deep Purple album I bought was “Nobody’s Perfect,” which is an excellent live album, but that was about ten years ago, and I had no idea what they had been doing since then.

“Purpendicular” has all the members of the classic “Mark 2” lineup, except for Richie Blackmore, who was replaced by Steve Morse(of Kansas), Ian Gillan on vocals, John Lord on keyboards, Roger Glover on bass and Ian Paice on drums. The first thing I have to say, as a Richie Blackmore fan, is I’m very impressed with the way Steve Morse stepped into the band. I think he is more of a “band” player than Richie was, and he makes up for what Richie with blazing no holds barred solos, tight crisp playing, and a great meshing with the rest of the band.

The song “Loosen My Strings” has a definite “Kansas” sound to it, in the way John Lord keyboard jams and Steve Morse’s guitars intertwine, kinda like “Point of No Return,” while “Hey Cisco” has a more classic Deep Purple guitar/organ jam that made the band’s sound so unique. “Ted the Mechanic” is my personal favorite; great guitar and it showcases the bands ability to tell a story. As far as lyrics coming to mind, its from “Somebody Stole My Guitar,” a song about a memorable drinking session. “My head is getting lighter, The mood is getting darker, Tequila’s being poured.” Sounds like the start of most good stories. “I’m Not Your Lover” is a showcase for John Lord’s awesome organ work while “The Aviator” on first listen sounds like a puss song, but it kind of grew on me. The guitar work is really spacy, almost Grateful Dead like, the intro to “Rosa’s Cantina” reminded me of “Hush” in both sound and feel. “Soon Forgotten” was the only song I really didn’t like at all. After the first few listens I had to skip over it, the rhythm was just too grating for me.

The one minor disappointment was that the jams were almost too clean. There wasn’t the reckless abandon that you could here in a song like “Child in Time” or “Space Truckin’,” but hey you can’t live in the past. Overall “Purpendicular” is a really good album, I give it an 80% on the Entertainment Ave! listenability scale, and I’m looking forward to seeing these guys tour the next time around since I just missed their last tour.

‘Till next time – Hang Loose!

Big Fine Thing

Artist: Darlahood Listenability Scale: 70%
Released by: Reprise Records
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Left

When my editor gave me Darlahood’s new CD "Big Fine Thing" to review, I thought, "Darlahood, is that some new ebonics term or something?". Well I was mistaken, Darlahood is a three piece band from New York who, in a nutshell, rock out. Luke Janklow’s guitar work hearkens back to the ’70s stadium rock monsters like Nazareth, Aerosmith, and even Van Halen. Every song has guitar rifts that just make you want to crank it up and rip the knob off, and maybe that’s why they went to a rented old house in upstate New York to write the songs for "Big Fine Thing". Luke is a flat out awesome guitarist, and he’s also proficient as the band lead singer. With a voice that’s strong and clear, the vocals are crisp and intelligible on all of the tracks. Meanwhile, the rhythm section of Joe Mangisro on drums and David Sellar on bass fill out the band with a funky but powerful backing.

The first song "Grow Your Own", which is not about weed, (although Luke’s voice reminds me a bit of The Black Crows’ Chris Robinson), sets the tone for the album with some great guitar work and an anti-angst theme. "99% Bulletproof" continues to showcase Luke’s guitar, but Dave’s funky-ass bass really makes the song. As I listened on, "Sister Dementia" has a really trippy melody and a catchy chorus while another song that caught me was "Watch Your Mouth". The intro has a Rage Against the Machine sound to it, and the chorus is catchy in a head banging sort o’ way. "De Nature Boy" has a very radio friendly sound to it, and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to here it in the near future.

I liked most of the tracks on the CD, but "New York City" was one of the two songs that I really disliked. The vocals on this song become monotonous and grating (just like the city), but it only takes a hit of the fast-forward button because "I’ve Got Pictures" makes up for "New York City" in a big way. This one has got hit written all over it. Luke’s voice takes on that Chris Robinson tone, and the song kind of reminds me of "Hard to Handle". Then we get to "RSVP" which is packed full o’ jams – that almost three minute intro really defines the band. Luke’s guitar is in your face as always, David’s bass is funky and Joe’s drumming ties it all together. After about a two minute singing part "RSVP" rolls back into another three minute jam that rivals the intro. I don’t compare any band to Led Zeppelin lightly, but "RSVP" is a bazaar cross between Smashing Pumpkins and Zeppelin. The final song "Hey Baby" is kind of a disappointment after the onslaught of sound that came before it. It’s a boring caustic ballad and is so different for the rest of the album I have to wonder why it was included.

I give "Big Fine Thing" a 70% on the Entertainment Ave! listenability scale. I just can’t say enough good things about this band. I found myself comparing them to a lot of different bands, and that just the only way I can put into words how these guys sound. There is a lot of good tunes to be found on this album, and their range of styles give a little something for everyone, from funky blues to straight forward rock with no holds barred guitar jams and of course that one damn ballad. The more I listen to this CD the more I like it (even though I still don’t know what the hell Darlahood means), and I’m looking forward to seeing them live when they come through this neck of the woods. They seem like the kind of band that puts on one hell of a show, but I guess I’ll just have to wait and see. ‘Til next time Hang Loose.

Loco Motive

Artist: Cowboy Troy
Listenability Scale: 55%
Released by: Warner Bros Records
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Yes, I must admit, I was sucked into this CD, Loco Motive, simply with the song “I Play Chicken With the Train,” a rousing testament that somehow country and rap can kinda fuse together if done properly, and trying to do it right is Cowboy Troy, as his web site says, a six foot five black rapping cowboy who is bringing out a new musical style called hick hop. But it’s kind of a weird CD. I’m thinking live is the way to see Cowboy Troy because the CD just falls a little short of lots of what it seems to have been shooting for. Sure, “I Play Chicken With the Train” does exactly what it seems Cowboy Troy was setting out to do, and we can see really put a country feel to more of a rap song, but a lot of songs on here just fall a little flat, namely songs like “Crick In My Neck,” “El Tejano,” and I thought “Ain’t Broke Yet” really tries too hard to country it up when it doesn’t need to.

Now I’m not saying the entire CD isn’t that great, but the highlights seem to come around when Cowboy seems to be having a lot more fun, or raps in a more serious nature. “Wrap Around the World” starts like something you would hear Alabama sing, then into a rapping lesson about all being friends, and even some lessons in various languages around the globe. The other song that really works is “My Last Yeehaw,” and we can really see how the Big & Rich influence helps a ton. And finally “If You Don’t Wanna Love,” a duet with Sarah Buxton, really works, telling the story of a wife in a crappy marriage and a runaway daughter, both of whom just want some love.

At a couple points on this album it just seemed like Cowboy Troy was just trying to be Kid Rock, except with fiddles and steel guitars in the background, and I know that he’s probably trying to be much more. That’s why I’m figuring his live show probably really puts things together, and why some of the songs on Loco Motive really work at what he is doing, while too many of them are just rap with fiddles.

I liked a little over half the album, so that gives it a 55% on the Entertainment Ave! listenability scale. There’s a lot of potential here, I’m just not buying taking a normal rap song that you might here from Will Smith or Run DMC, adding some fiddles to it, and call it hick hop, but I do look forward to seeing Cowboy Troy in concert because I think on a stage even the songs I don’t really care for will work better.

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

Superkala

Artist: Course of Nature
Listenability Scale: 85%
Released by: Lava/Atlantic Records
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

This CD was a pleasant surprise. Being a fan of rockin’ music, as I was tracking through “Superkala,” I found everything I was looking for. You get your guitar solo, you get some catchy lyrics, you get your rocking ballad, and although maybe not the best band out there, if you like guitar driven rock, Course of Nature’s “Superkala” might be one for you to pick up. Personally, “Caught In The Sun” was my favorite on the CD, but this CD will be added to my computer jukebox. It’s an 85% on the Entertainment Ave! listenability scale.

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

Deliverance

Artist: Corrosion of Conformity
Listenability Scale: 75%
Released by: Sony Music Entertainment
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Although I’m not a huge fan of this type of metal music, on the whole Corrosion of Conformity gives you that screaming metal but with more of a guitar edge. I guess what I mean by that is there seems to be much more attention to more intricate guitar playing on “Deliverance” than what you might find from some of the other screaming metal bands out there. They also seem to do a better job at keeping the energy up in the songs, yet still maintaining clear vocals. Too many times I’ve heard screaming metal that if you didn’t read along with the lyrics, well, you would probably have no clue what they were saying. Corrosion of Conformity at least seems to try a little hard to let you understand their songs without having to read. Not really my cup of tea, but I’ll give them a 75% on the Entertainment Ave! listenability scale. If you like this style of music, this CD shouldn’t let you down.

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

Celestial

Artist: Spirit House
Listenability Scale: 85%
Released by: Domo Records
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

This CD eventually had me do some internet searching because I didn’t know what an ehru was. It turns out is sort of like a violin, but different. In any case, as I pulled this CD out of the rack, I really wondered what they were about, with the two Asian dudettes on the front of the CD and songs like “Vietnam” and “Cang Ding.” Then I noticed it was on the Domo record label and I knew I could probably expect a Kitaro sound to it, and I did.

You get melodic sounds with that Asian feel, the kind you can expect from New Age music. If you are a fan of that, this one’s a nice addition to your musical library, that and the secretary really liked it.

This is an 85% on the Entertainment Ave! listenability scale for the New Age genre.

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

Golden State

Artist: Bush
Listenability Scale: 20%
Released by: Atlantic Records
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

I was disappointed with this CD, especially since I was a fan of “Sixteen Stone.” My main issue with this CD – other than the two slow songs, pretty much everything sounds the same, with that same driving guitar and beat we already know. I’ll probably copy a few songs over to my computer jukebox, but really, for the most part, I’m happy enough when the “Sixteen Stone” songs come up. Bush fans might like this one, especially the harder-core ones, but for me, Bush just doesn’t do anything on this CD that stands out and makes me want to sing along.

For Bush-heads the rating might be higher, but for me it’s a 20% on the Entertainment Ave! listenability scale. Too much all sounding the same.

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

The Life of Chris Gaines

Artist: Chris Gaines (Garth Brooks)
Listenability Scale: 80%
Released by: Capitol Records
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

CD reviews are weird enough for me to write sometimes because usually it’s simply I like the CD or I don’t. I hate getting all “this latest CD could be the defining CD of this band’s career,” or other crap like that. A concert experience has a story to tell, a movie has a plot to write about, but a CD, for me, is simply do I like listening to it, or in the worst case, do I think the fans of the band will like listening to it. Because of this I sometimes put off reviewing CD’s that come to the Entertainment Ave! mailbox, although I am trying to drop this habit. So, to start the breaking of this habit, what CD do I decide to resurrect my CD reviewing skills? Well, probably the weirdest CD I’ve ever had to review, or maybe even listen to, and that CD is, well, you know what, I’m already confused what to call it because here are the choices I have:

  • The CD booklet and press “biography” of Chris Gaines call the CD: “Garth Brooks in… The Life of Chris Gaines”
  • The CD booklet also has on the reverse side: “Chris Gaines – Greatest Hits”
  • The CD will sit in its jewel case on my rack showing “Chris Gaines – Greatest Hits”
  • The NBC press release as well as the Billboard tear sheet call it “Garth Brooks… In The Life of Chris Gaines”
  • And finally, the Capitol Records press release simply calls it “In the Life of Chris Gaines.”

So, you know what? Screw it. I’m going to try to put aside the fact that this CD is put out by Garth Brooks and really try to base this review if I had just gotten a CD by some dude called Chris Gaines who now has a greatest hits CD out even though I haven’t heard any of his songs on my radio station. What the hell, if Garth can take on the role of Chris Gaines than I can take the role of a dude who has never heard of him. I guess I’m nutty like this sometimes. So, here’s my mostly fake history of finding out about Chris Gaines with a real review the CD.

The Dude on the Right’s review of Chris Gaines – “Greatest Hits.”
The other day I’m checking the mail here at Entertainment Ave!, opening up the assorted CD’s of bands that most of you have never heard of, when I see a greatest hits CD. It was from this dude called Chris Gaines and I say to myself “Self, who is Chris Gaines and what songs did he have that he could put together a greatest hits CD?” I mean, I remember some greatest hits CD’s from bands who had at least a couple of hits, like that last Fine Young Cannibals CD, but they usually didn’t warrant the greatest hits title at all. What about this dude who I have never heard of? How did I miss the 11 supposed greatest hits of the 13 on this CD?

So, I did some checking and supposedly Chris Gaines has had a string of hits on his own, as well as with his previous band, Crush, beginning back around 1985. He’s had his share of tragedy, and quite honestly from his press release he’s about ready for a VH1 “Behind the Music” special with the only thing missing being a drug or alcohol addiction. He’s had a string of # 1’s, and maybe you’ve heard some of them, but like I said before, none of the songs rang a bell. In any case I thought “What the hell, let’s give it a listen.”

I’ve got to be honest that the first time I listened to this CD, well, I didn’t really care for it. It was alright, I thought, the songs being mostly pop with some funkier songs thrown in for good measure, but it wasn’t that bad so I gave it a few more listens and it grew on me. Catchy choruses, some love songs, and I could sort of see some of these songs hitting the charts. Songs like “That’s the Way I Remember It” and “Unsigned Letter” had me singing along by the third listen, and I could almost hear the Backstreet Boys doing a song like “Driftin’ Away” with the harmonizing going on. A lot of the songs had me thinking of other bands, ranging from The Beatles to The Alan Parsons Project to Bread. Yea, that’s right, I said Bread. And with that comment I’ve got to say some of the songs were just of the generic ballad variety, the new song “Lost in You” coming to mind. I’m not saying it’s bad, so you Chris Gaines fans don’t get in all a tizzy, but to me it seemed generic, although I do have to admit I did find myself singing along.

What did kind of surprise me was that none of the songs really hit the rock and roll side. Some were close, mixing more funk than rock on something like “Snow in July” and “White Flag,” and maybe there are some songs on his earlier CD’s that really rock, but this CD is stuck on ballad and pop. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I guess I just expected a little more, although thinking about it these types of songs are usually the hit variety.

In any case I can honestly say that I’m liking this CD a little more with every listen, especially “Main Street,” reminding me of a cross between Dylan and Springsteen, and the song “Maybe” which I, well, just, well, liked.

In all honesty I’m not sure how all of these songs were hits, but for someone who has never heard of Chris Gaines before, well, this greatest hits CD sounds like a good start. I’ll have to keep my eyes open for some of those earlier CD’s as well as for his upcoming CD, “The Lamb,” which ties in with his movie coming out.

In the end I give Chris Gaines’ “Greatest Hits” CD an 80% on the Entertainment Ave! listenability scale. It’s pretty solid with a couple of songs I’m not sure how they made it as hits, but others help make up for it.

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

The Ultimate Hits

Artist: Garth Brooks
Listenability Scale: 99%
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

As I’m starting to get excited about seeing Garth Brooks in concert on November 14th (my review of that concert will probably posted over the weekend of the 17th), I thought I would get a head start by getting Garth’s latest CD, “The Ultimate Hits,” so that I would be familiar with the new songs, and I find myself, again, in a weird spot of reviewing a greatest hits type collection (my last one was of Matchbox Twenty’s “Exile on Mainstream”). For the Matchbox Twenty collection I was duly impressed by their ratio of “new songs” to “greatest hit songs” was at a whopping 35-39% depending on the version you bought, and although Garth’s “The Ultimate Hits” is at a ratio of about 12% (I’m ignoring the two, blank tracks), but with the fact that if you shop fast you can get 34 songs and a DVD filled with over two hours of videos for under $15 bucks. Even then, just for the four songs and DVD of videos, the $15 bucks is well worth the cost of getting redundant copies of songs you already own, and you know what, when you rip them to your iPod, now you’ve got a higher rate of getting some great Garth Brook’s songs blasting through your shuffle play.

In any case, “The Ultimate Hits” spans all of Garth Brook’s career, with the songs that were hits (duh?), and as I took a listen I was amazed as I remembered every lyric, even filling in parts from “live shows” like “God bless Chris LeDoux!”, and remembered how a lot of Garth’s songs brought back tons of memories through a lot of years. And those were just the old songs! I could go through the entire track listing, but why? Pretty much if the song was any kind of radio hit for Garth, well, it’s on the two audio CD’s included with this collection. I was a little more interested in the four new songs, or I suppose I should say three new songs and a bonus track (I still never really understood the bonus track thing, especially with the two “blank” tracks before, and in this case the bonus song is “Leave A Light On”), and I have to say that the DVD is really what sold me on the new songs.

The reason I say that the DVD sold me on the new songs is that, like most CD’s, I listen to them in the background, and as the new songs came around I was sort of like “I guess that’s okay?” and then the next hit song would play, and I would sing along while I was doing things.  Then, as much as I was indifferent to the DVD, I popped it in my player, and I quickly realized that I’ll now have to do a review of it separately (God, that video of “Much Too Young…” brought back some wacky memories), but as I scanned through the videos I eventually got to the video for “More Than a Memory,” and suddenly, like most Garth songs, the song finally hit home. I will say I’m not a huge fan of the duet with Huey Lewis covering “Workin’ For A Livin’, although that might go back to some tortured days in college when one of my nicknames was “Huey Lewis Lips,” but “Midnight Sun” got me right back to knowing Garth can be fun, and how fun would it actually be to see Garth and the boys doing a concert in a bar? But the new, or rather bonus song, that hit me first was “Leave A Light On,” sans video, (and there isn’t one on the DVD), because it seems to touch on how Garth is always able to convey emotions, how a song can build to a crescendo, keeping you with it until the end.

If you are a huge Garth Brook’s fan you probably own 30 of the songs on “The Ultimate Hits,” and you probably have copies, or bootlegs, of some of the videos on the included DVD, but as Garth has always been about his fans, for the price, this two audio disc with some new stuff and a bonus DVD is way worth the price. I now have three new Garth songs I really like in my music library, and fine, I’ll add the Huey Lewis cover (even if I still have Huey’s lips), so I’ll be giving Garth Brook’s “The Ultimate Hits” a 99% on the Entertainment Ave! Listenability Scale. He loses 1% because my ultimate Garth hit is “The Red Strokes.” Sometimes I’m petty like that for a CD review. Hey, at least he also includes the “Dr. Pepper Commercial” song! Ah, screw it, 100%. I realized I still love Garth songs, again, even if my “Ultimate” hits aren’t really on this CD.

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