Turkey Reviews - Midwest Edition

Here goes...

BB King – Submitted this because the blues is a “genre” (there you go, Ken) that this group has pretty much ignored to date. Also, because I find it awe inspiring that BB King is still going strong at 80 years old. Since all the songs are duets, the success of each track largely rests on the contributions of the guests. Not surprisingly, the highlights are the tracks with Van Morrison, and fellow pickers Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler, who mercifully do not contribute vocals. Also not surprising is that the songs that fall flat are the ones with soul-less guests like Glenn Frey and John Mayer, although I was impressed with Mayer’s guitar work. A pleasant surprise is the duet with Gloria Estefan, who sounds great. BB’s singing and playing are flawless throughout, and the production is slick, perhaps a little too slick at times. Wonderful to hear Roger Daltrey singing something “new”, and even Elton John sounds good. BB, at age 80 clearly is not running on empty. A solid, if unspectacular disc showcasing one of our country’s greatest treasures. 3 ½ stars.

Linda Perry – I’m a little confused. The CD was no good, so I went on Rhapsody and it had a different cover and a 10/05 release date. My understanding was this was “old”, but all the songs are the same on the one Jen provided and the 2005 version. WTF?? Anyway, the CD itself is pretty good. Perry’s voice is very powerful, and carries even some of the lesser material. The disc tends to be a little too much of the same thing, kind of plodding, somber, drama queen material. Would be better if she would take it easy on a couple of songs. Highlight for me is “Uninvited”, largely because she tones down the dramatics, making the song stand out. The duet with Grace Slick is also very good, she manages to vocally out duel Perry. Not sure who the players are, but the band is competent and the production is solid as well. 2 stars.

Jimmy James – Decent if not remarkable soul music, not often heard these days. The upbeat numbers such as “Ain’t Love Good” and “Do It Right” work a whole lot better than the slower, string drenched material that dominates side two. Highlight of the disc for me is “I Gotta Dance to Keep From Crying”. That one and “The Entertainer” sound like Smokey & the Miracles, which is a good thing. I’d be very interested in getting a greatest hits from this guy. I like a good portion of it, but a lot of side two bored me. Band, particularly the drummer and bass player are solid, as are the vocals. Production sounds good for the late 1960’s, though a little more gee-tar and a little less strings would help. Not great in its genre. 2 ½ stars.

Tiger Mountain – I got hooked big time on the opener, “Shouldn’t Be Long”, great harmony vocals, neat little keyboard riff in the background, and a drum sound that can only be described as kick ass, both in sound and execution. While the disc never reaches that level again, there are some good tracks that stay in the brain. “Century’s Gone”, “A Certain Slice” and “Overtime” are standouts. Sounds like they’d be a great bar band, but I think the songwriting is a little on the weak side. Production is ok, but that drummer is a freaking monster, really good. 3 stars

Hot Rod Circuit – Reminded me a lot of Creed, never a good sign. Many of the songs seem to lean on a formula of loud wall of guitars, strained vocals, heavy cymbal-washed 2/4 drum sound. It was difficult for me to discern a whole lot of difference between the Cds these songs came from, didn’t appear to be much in the way of artistic variety or growth exhibited. Band is solid if not spectacular. Highlights of the disc for me were the clever “Cheap Trick” and “The Pharmacist” which showed a popiness for a rocker that isn’t on most of the others. Nothing here for me to distinguish them from the Jimmy Eat Worlds, Blink 182s and Alkaline Trios of the world. 2 stars.

Discussion Question

I think it would be kind of dull if every band knew the same cover songs, but I think there are certain parameters that need to be met:

1) A Chuck Berry song – Any band that can’t do a Chuck Berry cover should not be playing live.

2) A Beatles song – With that catalog, every band should be able to play at least one.

3) A Dylan song – Ideally, vocalist should over-do the Zimmy-styled vocals as well

4) A really cheesy pop song, done in a way that makes you re-think the song. I offer up Fountains of Wayne’s cover of “Hit Me Baby One More Time” or Pearl Jam’s version of “Last Kiss” as examples.

5) Bands should be able to cover themselves, taking one of their songs and dramatically re-arranging it. Example, Neil Young’s “Like a Hurricane” done on the pipe organ on the “Unplugged” CD.

Discussion Question II

Favorite Covers – Hardest discussion question ever. I am going to go split it up into live & studio and limit to 10 each. I’m sure I will forget a bunch, and will slap my forehead with a “D’oh” when I see the other lists…

Studio (Not in order except for…)

“I Fought the Law” – The Clash’s cover of Bobby Fuller (My favorite cover ever)
“Hurt” – Johnny Cash’s cover of 9 Inch Nails
“Southern Accent” – Johnny Cash’s cover of Tom Petty
“Ring of Fire” – Social Distortion covers Cash
“Raspberry Beret” – Hindu Love Gods (REM&Zevon) cover Prince
“Riding With the King” – BB King & Eric Clapton cover John Hiatt
“ I Will” – Alison Krauss covers the Beatles
“What’s So Funny About Peace, Love & Understanding – Elvis Costello covers Nick Lowe
“Substitute” – Ramones cover the Who
“Toys in the Attic” – REM covers Aerosmith

Tough leaving off Bob Dylan’s version of “Froggie Went a Courtin’”….

Live:

“All Along the Watchtower” - Neil Young covers Dylan @ Bobfest
“Rockin’ In the Free World” – Pearl Jam covers Neil Young
“Baba O’Reilly” – Pearl Jam covers the Who
“Detroit Medley” (Devil w/a Blue Dress, etc…) – Bruce & E St Band cover Mitch Ryder & Detroit Wheels
“So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star” – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers cover the Byrds
“Summertime Blues” – The Who cover Eddie Cochran
“Don’t Let Me Down” – Two Cow Garage covers the Beatles
“People Who Died” – Drive By Truckers cover Jim Carroll
“Where Did Our Love Go” – J Geils Band covers Diana Ross & the Supremes
“Hit Me Baby One More Time” – Fountains of Wayne cover Brittany Spears
“Stay” – Jackson Browne covers Maurice & the Zodiacs

Recommendation:

Susan Tedeschi – Hope & Desires (All cover songs)