Reviews

Cheap Trick - Rockford - Cheap Trick Unlimited/Big3 - While I am a little surprised that this disc was any good at all, I'm not surprised because I know how good Cheap Trick can be. I also know how incredibly awful they can be too, please see Woke up with a Monster for proof. Why can't the band put out this kind of rocking pop gem everytime I don't know. Maybe it's best that they lower our expectations with a crummy pop record so that we are caught off guard? Or maybe after "The Flame" they just can't help themselves sometimes? Okay, so every song on this disc isn't of equal value, and that's fine, cause the floaters out weigh the sinkers. That's good, cause the ones that are good, are really good. IF, and I capitalize that for effect, the band can continue to generate this kind of rock magic then they should have no trouble making records until the Rolling Stones all die, which I think will be sometime in the next forty years. This isn't a return to form, I don't think the band is every going to capture the sound they did on their earliest records, but this is as close as a band can get to the sound that made you love them. It's like your favorite baseball player who has been playing a long time and having an up and down career and then finally he pulls off a monster season. Where did that come from you wonder? I had almost given up on the guy, but I always held out hope. Was it the steroids? Did the guy finally give a shit about baseball again? Who knows, and who cares? As long as Cheap Trick keep churning out this kind of rock music, I'll be listening. Dave Cave (Pondistro Music Recording Services) Yes, I'm a new reviewer. Ask me about my Pinto. (11/2006)

A Perfect Murder - Strength Through Vengeance - Victory Records - This band has the right attitude at the starting gate, come out throwing punches. I Like that. This is as good a hardcore disc that I have heard since I agreed to help Brad with SLTM low those many years ago. Sometimes, the hardcore music I hear gets a touch muddied down, with too much growling and too heavy of a presence from the guitar. I mean, hardcore guitar should be pounding, but it shouldn't be a distorted mess of loudness. I really think the guitar work on this disc is some of the best in hard rock/hardcore that I have heard in awhile too. It reminds me of some of the hard rock/metal bands of the Eighties, and I mean the good ones, not those ones in the glam metal arena (who were not all bad, so let's not start jumping up and down on them with a steel toed boot, some of that music was pretty good but doesn't compare to the real Metal). The singing is powerful without being incoherent, and it fits the music perfect. There is a little edge too it, but it's like the guy realizes his limitations as a singer and doesn't try to work every single note of hardcore singing into his voice. Really, I hate to keep going back to it, but that guitar work is really damn good, it's just perfect for the music, not too heavy and not too pristine. If you enjoy hard rock music or hardcore then you'll like this. I listen to a lot of independent or smaller label music, and this group will be at the top of my list not only for some of the best in Hardcore but some of the best music overall. Plus here is another good example of a band putting a really cool, interesting cover on their CD. Hardcore bands really know how to use that space, something that major labels (especially those dicks in country music marketing) should learn to do. I really don't want to see another picture of Keith Urban on the CD, put that inside, and if you can't come up with something interesting for the cover then you probably haven't gotten anything interesting to say in your music. "Dead Air" Frank List 10/06

Blue Velvet - Four Songs - Phratry Records BC Records - Four songs is correct, very nice when a band lets you know exactly what your getting. These fours songs are all instrumental too, so there is another piece of information for ya. With all that you should have some idea where your headed right? Not exactly, because when you think "four songs" and "instrumental music" you might be envisioning a CD that is about thirty five minutes long. Well, guess what? This band gets in and out around 10 minutes and change. That is a good thing, cause they can show you their chops, not over stay the welcome and leave you wanting to hear more. I do like the sax in the last song Untitled (two) a lot, because it brings a nice sound to the guitar, piano, drums mix. It's hard to describe music, mostly you just point to sign posts you've already passed on the music highway. I don't want to start trying to dig up cool references of what this music reminds me of, that would seem rather snobby to me. I can say that while it's instrumental, it doesn't just drag on. They were smart to put a short song at the beginning to wet the appetite for more, good move. I really like the piano in the last song, and like I mention above the sax is really cool too. I mean, it's only ten minutes long so what have you got to lose even if you just pop it in and give it a listen? I think you'll be gaining a lot of enjoyment from this disc. I hope that Blue Velvet realizes they got a good sound, but I also hope they realize that making an EP is the way to go. Why? Well, some people won't want to digest a whole disc (35 minutes) of instrumental rock music in one sitting, so their best bet is a short EP that leaves the listener wanting more, but not getting just yet. At least that's how I would do it, but I'm just some crummy writer who works for a barren website. Jack Windbreaker Winton (10/06)

Sparklehorse - Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of The mountain- Capital/EMI - The fact that it took five years between releases and also that this disc includes two songs Linkous previously released should have pissed me off, but it didn't. You see, I love and look forward to ANY and all Sparklehorse releases. I first got into them when Jack Rabid mentioned them in Big Takeover. With that endorsement, I sought out their last release It's a Wonderful Life, which is kind of dark in tone, but a great release all the same. I loved it, and when I feel a little down or just a tad sullen I like to pop it in. This release finds Linkous in a slightly sunnier mood, using all the audio devices he is known for to capture another complete aural masterpiece. I just enjoy the fact that this guy could use anything to make a song go, it's all atmosphere to him. The title song for example, while it was released before on the Gold Day EP, is a great example. It has no words, goes 10 minutes long, and has a "beep" noise as one of the effects, but is totally mesmerizing and beautiful. Linkous knows what to use in a song and how to use it to make a perfect song. Cheers to him and his co-horts in creating a wonderfully stroked piece of pop perfection. Now lets not wait another five years between releases, shall we? Frank List (10/06)