No Mike, then we'll skip the movies and onto the babes

U2
U2 has become one of those bands that you probably won’t turn off one of the songs that you like, but you probably aren’t about to rush and put one of there cd’s in just to listen to it either. You can also tell what type of cd it’s going to be by the drum sound. Sharp, out in front and driving, then you get some really good pop songs. Muted, atmospheric, and in the background, well then probably Brian Eno is involved. Unfortunately with this cd it’s the latter. And the disc suffers for it. Too much atmosphere and not enough anthems. It’s a shame because on Letterman they were awesome, but somewhere in the recording process the heart was lost, just like the drums. 2

Good Rats
When I was a wee lad in that great frontier of the Island of Long in the year 1977, I discovered that there was this thing called FM radio. The three local bands that you needed to see playing the clubs that all the stations championed at the time were Soft White Underbelly, Twisted Sister, and the Good Rats. Now I was too young to get into the clubs, but it was fun watching two of the bands make it huge, and one always seeming just not quite. And even today I do not know why these guys did not make it. I haven’t heard Back to My Music in probably 30 years and the minute that opening riff came on I was a happy teenager again lost in new found music. The double lead very seventies guitar, the awesome harmonizing vocals, supporting a very distinctive fun loving voice, and short sweet very creative guitar leads; this is what I love in music. Not a bad song on the disc, and all guaranteed to make you hum along at some point long after the disc has stopped spinning. 4.5

AC Newman
Big sound. Very produced sound. And the lead song just reaches out and gets you. A great voice comes booming out as the sound drops, and then they play back and forth. You can hear strings plucking along with the riff, acoustic guitars, and the piano. Just a great song. Followed by a few more great kitchen sink productions. But the problem with big music it can come a bit overbearing. This cd suffers form this. While the songs on it are quite good separately, or in small bunches, listening to the cd as a whole the listener gets lost in a bit of overwhelming repetitiveness. Still there are some really good songs on here and I just made sure I listen to a bit, then come back where I left off. 3.0

Spoon
Not sure why I don’t like spoon more than I do. It’s not anything I can single out and this cd offers no solution. I love the guitar playing, and the songs are put together great with obviously talented musicians. Maybe it’s the lack of a truly memorable chorus in the songs I don’t know. Don’t hate anything on here, just didn’t really want to go back to it either. 2.0

Bottle Rockets
Have heard a great deal about these guys through the years but never got around to listening to them. Was expecting a bit more rawness to it. Seemed a bit mellow for the bar band sound they seem to be looking to be. Got a taste of it late in the disc, but most seemed laid back. They have a knack for writing clever lyrics, but as a whole the hype was not supported by the music.


5 great solo projects.

Michael Schenker Group
Silver Ginger 5
Zakk Wylde Book of Shadows
Pete Townsend Empty Glass

As I find music is something I like to escape to, what particular type of music I listen to should not matter.