Kenny B's Delightful February Reviews

Monsignor Boucher
Reviews February 06

(note: guest reviewer this month is my 6 year old son Evan- in quotes)

The Darkness- One Way Ticket to Hell
I had to do everything in my being not to grimace when this disc was handed out having disliked their first outing so much, mostly due to Justin’s vocals. I will admit that I was beyond shocked after the first three songs. Straight forward rock on the opener with good, poppy guitar licks, “Knockers” nice piano part and guitar fill. Then came “Dinner Lady Arms” which started leaning toward gay and wussy and it all went to hell with a one way ticket.

“Daddy what’s the name of this cd?” The Darkness. “His voice sounds weird.” It’s a falsetto, only men can do it. “Is he saying a bad word Dad?” Yes he is. “Can you play number one again?” Sure, Evan. “Can you burn this for me.” Ok bud.

The problem I had with their first disc re-appeared. This band wants to be Queen. The harmonies are Queen. The layered guitar is straight Brian May and Justin sings like Freddie Mercury trying to sing like the Scissor Sisters. That or like a school girl. Much of their sound is dated and not in my opinion a hip way. “Dad can you play number 1 again”. I think four times in a row is enough Ev. “Will you burn this for me when we get home”. I told you I would.

While it didn’t suck as much as I expected, my biggest issue is that they are a cover band that could be a good rock band if they sacked their singer. “Dad, how does he do that with his voice?” I have no idea Evan. “It hurts when I try to do it.” Then don’t do it. I don’t Justin nor do I like his singing. There were 4 songs I liked, but not enough to save the disc. “Dad, did you burn the Darkness for me yet”. Here take my copy. I have no use for it. (1.5). Evan (3.5) on the continuous play of the first song while playing EA Sports MVP Baseball.

The Anniversary-Your Majesty
Surprisingly this disc has a Murder By Death feel, sans cello. Actually not a surprise being it’s a Token Female selection. The Anniversary is an enjoyable album. The musicians aren’t fantastic but together they create a solid sound around solid songs, and to me that is more important than virtuosity. Vocals were good, better than most bands, though the phrasings tend to be analogous. Some fellow downyournosers may question my equating The Anniversary to Murder by Death, but listen to the song structure and add a dose of the Alarm and Jayhawks and voila, it appears. I found myself wanting to have this one in my car and readily available, which must count for something. (3.5)


Neil Young- Tonight’s the Night
I think it was Mike M who mentioned that maybe we should leave the classics out of our reviewing contentions. This is one of those for me. I didn’t even have to listen to for this month because it is in my permanent rotation. “Is this Neil Young? The boy you were playing when you were doing chores?” Yes it is Evan. “Is that a piano that starts the song dad” Yes Evan. “Who’s the boy Bruce he is singing about”. He was a roadie for Neil Young. “What’s a roadie? Is that a working man” A guy who moves the guitars and amps for the musicians. “You mean the diddleys? Yes, the diddleys . “Can you put that song ‘Downtown’ on again?” Of course.

I am phenomenally biased as Neil is one of my gods. But this album has such a soulful, ominous sound. It’s a collection of songs that are from the gut as it is Neil dealing with the death of Danny Whitten (original Crazy Horse singer/guitar) and Bruce Barry (the roadie noted earlier). The album’s creation is interesting as the songs were recorded all in the wee hours of the morning in a tequila hazed fog in a make shift studio (I won’t bore you with the details). None of the musicians were given rehearsal time and most of the ragged sound and errors kept in- which gives it the soul…. “let’s go let’s go let’s go downtown……” What’s more interesting is that is was recorded 2 years before it was released, the release being delayed because it would have followed Harvest and the record company felt their fans wouldn’t understand the abrupt contrast from pop country to the dark “Tonight”. It’s one of those albums that can be analyzed until Armageddon, and some have over done it already. A classic if there ever was one. (5) Evan (4- can’t be a 5 at his age and being clueless on the meaning, but he has played this umpteeth times in the last few months while playing Xbox)

Fischerspooner- Odyssey
I picked up this disc from hearing the song “Never Win” (on my 2005). I took the chance because this is not my usual. With a great big PHEW, I happened to like it. I’ve always been a sucker for European-gay-dance-pop (Eraser, Depeche Mode, Electronic etc) and this falls into that category in a way. It’s like the Pet Shop boys with a little more edge. I like electronica that doesn’t delve into creative noise-scapes. Driving beat with interesting use of “electronic” instrument and lyrics that are understandable, At least I think they are singing about gals (“Happy”) when they are not being political (“We Need a War”). The first part of the disc is stronger than the end but all in all a decent disc. The biggest pisser is that it is one of those ‘protected’ discs and play is spotty depending on what I am listening it on. (3)

Pre-Suck Steely Dan
I’ve forgotten how much I like some Steely Dan and how much I feel some of it is too over thought. Early Steely Dan, with Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, Rick Derringer and the Brecker brothers, were some of the best crafted songs of the 70’s. While they are denigrated as over produced rock, some of their songs showcase great musicianship, corporate groove and melody. The early Dan relied more on guitar with interspersing of keyboard than the later incarnation that inverted this. I do admit that I like “Aja” though I know that Jay abhors this album. I would have liked to seen “Showbiz Kids”- as this is my favorite Steely Dan song- and I could have lived without “ Bad Sneakers“ and “Doctor Wu”. Nice disc since it saved me from having to digitize some of my analog recordings.


Guitar Albums
A good guitar album to me is either riff heavy and hard driving, melodic and feeling or full of inventive, kick-ass solos. Any combination will do, but the special sauce is if there is “gut” in the music. Pathos. Emotion. A great solo can be one note played just right (Neil Young, Edge), not necessarily 45 octets played in 3 seconds (Joe Satriani). The riffs need to accompany and cushion the melody while being inventive and memorable. You have to be able to hum it on queue. Tone is can be important as well, but that one is open to subjective listening. If my head starts to bob or I can not hold back the air guitar- it’s a good guitar album.

Top Guitar Albums:
Cult- Electric: Almost every song has a memorable Billy Duffy riff that rattles your skull and cradles Ian Astbury’s BABY BABY.
Chicago IV: Not for everyone, but I love Terry Kath’s creative, extended solos.
Led Zeppelin IV (Zoso): Black Dog, Rock and Roll, Misty Mountain Hop and even over played Stairway.
Jimmy Cobb- Only For the Pure at Heart: Soft groove that will get you rocking oh so gently.
The Who- Who’s Next: Pure unadulterated power.
Audioslave- Audioslave: Tom Morello does unnatural things to create fantastic aural soundscapes with Chris Connell.
TSAR- Band-Girls-Money: Every song is a power melody.
Any AC/DC album up to 1980
Ragged Glory-Neil Young: Raw, pure energy without perfection.
Aerosmith-Rocks: “Nobody’s Fault” alone makes this album a guitar selection for me. The rest ain’t too shabby either.