Reviews From Tornado Alley

Ray Davies – On paper, a no brainer.  I love covers, the Kinks, and several of the artists involved. It gets off to a horrendous start, as  Bruce butchers one of my all time favorite songs.  Bruce’s vocal range, if you can call it that, isn’t suited for the delicate treatment the song calls for. Bon Jovi doing “Celluloid Heroes” made vomitous bile rise from the pits of my stomach to the back of my throat.  Liked Lucinda & Mumford tracks.  At best, the rest are grossly inferior versions, and at worse (Metallica) ruin the work of one of music’s great songwriters. A colossal disappointment.  1.5 stars 

Mumford & Sons – A good disc that reminds me of the Avett Brothers, only not as well done.  A little banjo-heavy for my taste, and like the Avetts they take themselves a little too seriously.  Some nice moments, particularly “The Cave”, and there is no denying the great harmonies and instrumentation.  3 stars

Lia Ices – Despite evidence to the contrary, I genuinely appreciate when someone submits a disc that is clearly outside my usual scope of listening.  That said, this was a truly mind numbing 45 minutes of rotten tediousness that bordered on coma inducing. It should have come with a “Do not operate heavy machinery while using this product” warning.  .5 stars 

Frances Dunnery – Starts off really well, hits a brick wall exactly halfway through the disc and limps to a finish.  Songs like “48 Hours” and “Too Much Saturn” are sharp, snappy pop songs reminiscent of John Wesley Harding.  Everything up to “I Don’t Want to Be Alternative” was really good.  From that song on, not so much.  2.5 stars

Sex Pistols – Hadn’t listened to this in over 20 years and was shocked at how well it holds up, it doesn’t sound the least bit dated.  The key is Chris Thomas’ pristine production/mix.  Hard to believe he also produced Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side”.  Here, it sounds like he just hits record and gets out of the way. Easy to give a great rating as a historical document, but the songs and energy still resonate. 4.5 stars

Parliament – A good collection.  I liked the hit and run stuff more than the Zappa-esque extended jams.  The amount and quality of lead guitar surprised me.  Bootsy Collins’ influence on modern pop and hip-hop just cant be overstated.

Discussion Question

I tried to keep the criteria simple:

1) If I never heard of the person or their music, they got a “no”.

2) If I like their music, they’re in.

3) If I don’t like their music, I weighed whether or not their influence and scope were important enough to over-ride my bias. Hence, Black Sabbath & Beach Boys get in despite me despising their guts.

4) If I couldn’t directly tie their music to rock and roll, they’re out. Miles Davis, Mahalia Jackson, etc were great artists, but clearly fit into different genres. That stated, I decided that “singer-songwriters” don’t have a genre besides rock n roll. Hence, my inclusion of Joel, Browne, Taylor, etc that aren’t necessarily “rock and roll” but fit closer to that description than any other.