Under The Wire

Eric Clapton- 4.0
At first listen I thought- kind of boring; kind of trying too many things- dixieland, gospel, and even (eeegads) standards. I hope he doesn’t turn into Rod Stewart for crying out loud- boring! But, you know, the more I listened to it the more I came to appreciate it.
This is a nice Sunday morning cd- have your coffee, and relax with a little EC on the turntable. He does all genres well, and even the standards get a little EC treatment. Yeah, maybe he’s getting old- but so am I. Looking out my window Sunday morning and listening to Rocking Chair and River Runs Deep and That’s No Way To Get Along. It’s still EC and he’s still god.

Brian Wilson- 2.0
Some people are going to absolutely hate this, but I’m a BW fan and think the guy is a brilliant composer. But here, he’s covering another composer’s work. I happen to love show tunes, but do we really need Brian Wilson’s take on these standards. Probably not.
It’s a good cd, but not one I’ll reaching for if I want to listen to Gershwin tunes.

Superchunk- 4.5
My favorite cd of the month. Indie darlings Superchunk have not skipped a beat in 10 years. They sound great- buzzsaw guitars ripping out power chords, McCaughan’s energenic vocals, cool lyrics, and that youthful intensity that belies their age. This is a fun listen- 42 minutes of punk-pop joy.

The Whigs- 4.0
The Whigs debut serves up a nice dish of indie/alternative rock with an Americana-ish feel to it. I’m thinking MMJ meets Sebadoh. Nothing is totally stellar or really stands out here but it’s also all good. I like Parker Gispert’s vocals and the production is just right. Don’t Talk Anymore and Half The World Away are the highlights for me and there really aren’t any lowlights. A solid cd.

Sea Level- 3.5
I know what the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Black Crowes, Allman Bros., Blues Traveler and long list of others know. Chuck Leavell is a brilliant keyboardist. One wouldn’t think that jazz and southern rock go together- but here’s Sea Level. This is their first release and sounds as good to me today as it did in 1977. A couple of misses here, but also lots of great, Allman-esque, guitar work and of course the virtuosity of Chuck Leavell.

Flashcubes
Who knew? Jay did. I’m a sap for obscure power pop groups, so thanks Jay. Most enjoyable stuff from a band I never even knew existed- and I grew up in Central NY. Go figure.