Greg's Spooky Reviews

The Black Crows - 3
WTF, are you serious, when did the Black Crows become a county band? And I’m supposed to listen to TWO disks? Well, I was pleasantly surprised when the second disk turned out to be a little more like the Black Crows I knew. I’ve never been a huge fan and I actually thought I’d seen the last of them. This is a strong album and I will give credit where it’s due. The band has grown up a lot. Even the country stuff had good lyrics and it was tolerable. I would not have recognized Chris Robinson’s voice if I didn’t know it was a BC cd. Been a Long time could have been a Creedence song and What is home sounded just like CSN. Still, I was more impressed than I thought I’d be.

Cocktail Slippers 2.5
Any chick band with the word “cock” in their name have to be cool. So I started off being positive. I liked this band a lot, but only for a song or two at a time. I think that the idea is awesome especially in a time of cool retro cars and everything, but I’m not sure how a band like this could survive today. Knowing myself I figured I’d venture to the band’s website and take a gander at these lovelies. Youch, their pictures actually made me like the band less. I won’t turn off one of their songs, but I won’t likely choose to play one either. They may as well be a 50’s Indigo Girls. It must be nice to know that I pick my music based on how hot the band members are. Thanks for inviting me into the group; I’m sure I’ll have a lot to offer.

Dada
Some songs were a little “Train-ish” for my taste. Or maybe Train is a little “Dada-ish” I don’t know. One way or another, this was my pick of the month, even though it is a GH. The songs I like most were probably the ones that everyone liked least. I liked Bob the Drummer and Suicide Bridge. The one I liked least believe it or not was Dizz Knee Land. The cool thing about this band was their ability to sound very diverse from song to song.

Sugar - Copper Blue 4.5
Bob Mould has to have one of the top five coolest voices in music. This cd has actually been a staple in my collection since it came out. It doesn’t have the same affect on me as when I bought it, but I think it could have stood up to any cd out at the time. The Slim and Act the Act are a couple of my favorites, but I don’t think there is a bad song on the disk. Oh boy, I think this disk might actually bring me into the top 10 and I didn’t even think anyone would like it that much.

The Who – Who By Numbers 4.5
The Who just isn’t the Who without Keith Moon. This was a Keith Moon CD. Although I didn’t have this disc, it actually contains several of my favorite Who songs. I always wish that Pete Townshend sang on more Who songs, but I wish that he didn’t on Blue Red & Grey, he sounded like a girl. Or maybe he was singing to a dude during his “bi” phase. In that case it’s ok.
. I’d love to actually find out what a Squeezebox is (I’m sure that I’ll be educated tonight), but the highlight of the disc for me is Slip Kid. One of the best beginnings to a rock song. I did here some Boston on Imagine a Man so I wonder if the Who might have been an influence.


Pete Yorn & Scarlett “the Goddess” Johansson (2 because of Scarlett)
The first track was a clear rip-off of Amy Winehouse, and I got really excited when I heard it, both emotionally and physically, ya baby. Unfortunately, the rest of the disk didn’t get me as excited. This cd did grow on me but not enough to really get in to it. I’m starting to wonder if Scarlett Johansson’s voice is as good as I thought it was. Ultimately, even Scarlett couldn’t completely save it for me.


Yes after careful consideration the topic has arrived.

1) You have the chance to see one living band that you haven't yet seen. Who is the band, (remember living, but reunions count), how far are you willing to travel, and how much will you pay?

Tom Waits - $400 – 500. Within New England area or New Orleans

2) Who is the one artist(s) that you always wanted to see but for whatever reason something always gets in the way? Do you still want to see them?

Boston – No, not without Brad Delp.



3) What about concerts that you have recently been to have changed? Is it for the better or for worse? What is it that you miss the most about concerts?

What? I’ll take a shot at what I thought you meant. There are only a few bands that I’ll see more than once or twice, Rush, Peter Gabriel, Dave Matthews, Tool, and maybe one or two more. Every one of them is as good or better than the previous shows, but when they play too much of the new music and if I don’t love the new stuff, that is when I’d prefer to go back in time. I feel so guilty for even saying that about Rush. I’ll get over it. What I miss most – not wearing earplugs.

4) Which is the better piece of music, the one that is in your must play list, or the one you know is a great cd, has great reviews, but rarely gets played by you? Why? And does this effect how you review cd's?

I don’t listen to reviews, I know what I like and I can guarantee that most critics won’t. If a band that I’ve never heard of comes out and the critics like it (ex. Kings of Leon) I’ll wait for the second single and then if I like it I’ll buy it. No affect on my music reviews typically, but I might feel compelled to pay a little bit more attention to see if I get what the critics got.