Jenn's November Review

CD Reviews:

B.B. King & Friends – 80:

I cannot pretend to be a blues expert by any means and I’ll probably get lynched for saying I’m really not that big of a fan of the genre as a whole. Perhaps I just have no soul, but blues music bores the hell out of me. I’m not into long guitar solos that all sound pretty much the same to me. Though there wasn’t an overabundance of guitar solos to bore me and the melodies were pretty upbeat, personally B.B. King’s guitar tone annoys the crap out of me. I’ve always been under the belief that B.B. King was too lazy. Like Chuck Berry and a lot of others, people who can’t play guitar and sing at the same time don’t impress me as much as those that can.

I was a little surprised to see guest stars like Hall & Oates, Gloria Estefan, and Elton John who just seem like an odd pairing with B.B. King. I’m getting tired of older musicians pairing with younger, more mainstream musicians to try to appeal to new listeners. It’s getting old. Highlights for me were “Hummingbird”, and “Need Your Love So Bad.” I give it a 3 for the genre, but would probably only give it a 1 ½, since I can’t see myself listening to it regularly, so average that out and you get 2 ¼ Stars.

Jimmy James & The Vagabonds – Come To Me Softly:

Ah, how I love 60’s music. This was a nice change. Though it may not be the best music to come out of the 60’s, it is entertaining. There is just something about it that makes you smile while listening to it. How can one possibly be mad while listening to it? (Unless of course you absolutely hated it, then yes, I guess one could be mad.) I put it in at work the other day and people in the office were happy and kind of dancing around. “I Gotta Dance To Keep From Crying” was my favorite. As much as I enjoyed it, I really can’t see myself listening to it often. There is a lot better music from the 60’s that I would prefer to listen to. Score: 2 ½

Linda Perry – In Flight:

I apologize for the bad discs. I didn’t realize it until later. I’ve heard all of the jokes about Four Non Blondes, but if you get past their horrible single “What’s Up” their album was actually pretty good. There was something about the singer that captivated me in an odd way. I picked up this disc after I heard the duet with Grace Slick on a soundtrack, not realizing that it was the same singer that I knew and loved from Four Non Blondes. This album quickly became one of my favorite albums and it has been included on every list I’ve made of favorite albums since. (It is also one of my desert island picks.) This woman writes amazing songs. Now she has been writing the hits of Pink, Christina Aguilera and others. Her music is powerful and moving and I don’t think that there is a bad track on this album. The duet with Grace Slick, “Knock Me Out,” gives me chills every time I hear it. I wish she would stick to recording instead of producing others because I need more!
Score: 5

Tiger Mountain – Get Along Like a House on Fire:

From the first play of this album, I loved it. The first track “Shouldn’t Be Long” was very catchy and got stuck in my head several times. Their slower tracks like “She Played Me Too” were reminiscent of some Rolling Stones hits. Tracks like “Century’s Gone” reminded me a lot of Phantom Planet or Rooney. Good pop band, good melodies, great bass lines and decent guitars, the right tinge of keyboards. However, the more I listened to it, the more bored with it I got. I still enjoy it, but only in moderation.

Score: 3

Hot Rod Circuit – Greatest Hits:

I’m not really sure why I did a Greatest Hits of this band. I guess I wanted to throw in a group that has been around for little while and not many people know them. Yes, I know they are an “emo” band, but for me there was something a little different to them that sets them apart from all of the other “emo” bands out there. Instead of guitar solos their guitarist fills in odd-licks throughout their music to fill out their sound in an interesting way. The guitarist Casey is a madman on stage. With half of the band hailing from CT they play Toads at least once a year. It’s nothing groundbreaking, it is just a band that I enjoy and enjoy even more seeing live.

Score: 3

Topic

I thought long and hard and realized my own question was quite difficult so here are some songs (or artists) that I think every artist/band should know.

1. Any Beatles song – everyone should know how to play at least one.
2. A Madonna song – because they are catchy and its also funny as hell to see rock or metal bands cover Madonna
3. “Freebird” – Come on, it had to be on a list. But, I think everyone should learn it in a way that is slightly different than the original so when someone screams out “Play Freebird” in the audience – you are fulfilling their request but also adding your artistic flair to it.
4. Rush , “Tom Sawyer”- I know this may be difficult considering that most bands do not have the drum and bass skills of Neil Peart and Geddy Lee, but change it up a bit. I recently heard this goth/industrial band do it and it was great, yet hysterical at the same time.
5. Prince – Purple Rain

Favorite Cover songs
1. Ahmet & Dweezil Zappa – Hit Me Baby One More Time (Britney Spears)
2. Faith No More – Easy (The Commodores)
3. Dynamite Hack – Boyz n The Hood (N.W.A)
4. Social Distortion – Ring of Fire (Johnny Cash)
5. Guns n Roses – Hair of the Dog (Nazareth)
6. The Get Up Kids – Close To Me (The Cure)
7. The Get Up Kids – Regret (New Order)
8. Jeff Buckley – Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen)
9. Ben Kweller – Ice Ice Baby (Vanilla Ice) LIVE
10. OKGO – Hold The Line (Toto) LIVE
11. Johnny Cash – Hurt (Nine Inch Nails)
12. The Lovemongers (aka Nancy and Ann Wilson) – Battle of Evermore (Led Zeppelin)
13. Tori Amos – Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana)
14. Siouxsie & the Banshees – The Passenger (Iggy Pop)
15. Nirvana – Lake Of Fire (Meat Puppets) (or any of their covers on the Unplugged Album)