DePalma, zombies and yes dessert islands

Damone
I really liked Damone’s first cd. Then the songwriter/guitarist quit and so I thought did the band. But Damone’s second cd is still really good. Noelle has a strong rock voice. Mike Wood delivers catchy riffs, and the band as a whole delivers short catchy rock songs. Yes they do slip into some 80’s clichés every once in a while but I forgive them because most of the time the deliver besides this. It will be interesting to see how these continue to grow. Also nice Iron Maiden cover. 3

Isis
Okay I hate the vocals on this cd. In fact I could not tell you a single word that comes out of his mouth because when that heavy metal guttural growl entered the mix I just tuned it out. Now the music on the other hand I found strangely atmospheric. Heavy at times quiet at others. It was repetitive and at times typically prog self indulgence but that was okay. I found it interesting. And liked having it played in the background. Of course the growl would appear and I would be forced away from what I truly enjoyed about this cd. Luckily the vocals are at a minimum so this was avoided for most of the cd. 2.5

The Kinks
Can anyone really say anything about a Kinks release? Yes there has been some average attempts especially in the late 80’s but there catalog can be placed with anyone and hold its own. This was a grower on me, as I tend to prefer the guitar-laden albums a bit to their folksy ones. Great lyrics (as usual) some interesting arrangements, nice back ground horns. I think the idea that it was supposed to be a soundtrack led to the interesting arrangements and subject matter. Could have done without some of the sludgy vocals on a few tracks prefer Ray Davies true voice anytime, but that’s just nit picking. 3



Robert Randolph
I had a disc in mind for new this month but my friends car was stolen and along with it my copy of the Elected. Thus I went to the new release page at AMG and chose the cd that I was most interested in. I figured we tend to get into ruts with our choices and this cd would make a nice change from our normal selection types. First I must apologize because I swore that I would never introduce anything that contained anything that had Dave Mathews on into the group. That being said, even his two songs are pretty good on this cd. It is obvious from track 1 that Robert Randolph is one hell of a slide player. But he has collected a group of songs that not only showcase him but his band as well. Yes Clapton plays on Jesus, but if I hadn’t ready I wouldn’t really have noticed. Instead besides all the guests, the cd just shows off Randolph and his band over and over. This is definitely a band that needs to be seen live. 3


Iggy
Raw unpolished and just plain fun. Was surprised just how much I enjoyed the guitar work on this collection.



New
Desert Island Discs
UFO Strangers In The Night
Echo and The Bunnymen Ocean Rain
Dramarama Stuck in Wonderamaland
Beatles Revolver
Queen II
Dada Puzzle
The Frames Fitzcaraldo
The Wildhearts Earth vs
Manic Street Preachers Generation Terrorists
Old 97’s Fight Songs

Old
Ufo- Strangers in the Night
Manic St Pr - Generation Tourist
Dramarama- Welcome to Dramaramaland
Wildhearts- Earth Vs
Dada- Puzzle
Beatles- Revolver
Queen- Jazz
Echo- Ocean Rain
The Call- Live Red Mood
Stereophonics- Performance and cocktails

The Frames replace the Stereophonics. After seeing them live must have them around
Queen II instead of Jazz. Just choosing the heavier more epic of the two
Old 97’s Fight songs Just a good cd over another. Could switch back at a later date.

But again no recently released cd makes the grade