Thank God for Tsar post

Best Coast-The Only Place

Lots of buzz about this band and while I like the direct nod to 60s rebel girl bands/artists I still feel that the songs lacked depth, real attitude and creativity. Songs need more baking and her vocals need more meat. There is potential but I don’t think BC is as buzz worthy as the magazines suggest. 2.0 

Royal Southern Brotherhood-S/T

This is total personal preference- I don’t like white southern soul. To me it is decent musicians playing overproduced well composed songs. No heart or gut. I find the Brotherhood in that ilk with more New Orleans flavor and Santana like guitar. Maybe there is more pathos than I’m giving them credit for but I’m skeptical.  (2.0)

Peter Gabriel-Live at London

I like and respect Gabriel. Many of the songs on this release are songs on my Zune. These versions worked better on me than Night Time Nyquil. Totally snoozy. I know Pete’s an artist and all but he was a rock artist first.  (1)

E-Man Called E

Melancholic pop that is well crafted, interesting and slightly sad- but nowhere as dark as his Eels work. Where Best Coast failed in completely working through their songs, E thought his songs out to fruition. (3.5)

Tsar- Band Girls Money

From first note to the last, few power pop rock albums rock harder than this one. It’s relentless and it demands to be played at 100 decibels. It proves that ballads are for pussies.   (5)

Topic

5 or 7 Greatest Songs Sung not by Lead vocalist

Happy- Stones –Stones

Nitty Gritty-SCOTS

Something-Beatles

My Wife- Who

Superman- REM

Sleepin on the Sidewalk- Queen

Outcast- DBT  

Boring, but here!!

(WC)Best Coast- The Only Place – 2.5

There wasn’t anything really wrong with this, but there wasn’t anything really great about it either.  I like the first song, but then couldn’t decide if I was bored or getting depressed.  
(New)  Royal Southern Brotherhood- Royal Southern Brotherhood – 3.5Initially I wasn’t sure about this.  It seemed like any Allman Brothers cd but I didn’t realize that there actually was an Allman in the band.  Being the son of Gregg Allman can’t have been easy, but the kid can hold his own.  I would have liked to have heard something a little more original, but it was still very good.  I like the other singers voice a lot too.  He sounds a lot like Greg Walker from Santana or even Robert Cray and even some of the guitars sound like Santana.   

(New)Tzar Band Girls Money – 3.5

This had great potential.  Right from the start it was rockin.   Definitely heard some “Sugar” in the song “You can’t always want what you get” and lots of other influences. 
(Old)E- Man Called E - 2

I think that this month must be boring month.  I just couldn’t get overly excited about anything, especially this.  Like Best Coast, it was only so so.  The singer was too Ray Davies trying to sing Beach Boys songs.  It didn’t suck, and it had its moments but I’m good doing the occasional listen when a song pops up on random.  
(Old)Peter Gabriel- Live in London – 4

This was so different from any Peter Gabriel cd that I’ve heard that I thought I’d hate it.  I listened because I felt obligated being a big fan for so long.  I felt that he was out of ideas and just resting on his laurels.  Not the case at all.  The arrangements were so thoughtfully put together that the songs all felt new.  The orchestration was intense.  The only downside for me was the less than stellar female vocalists.  He’s had too many great singers to use the backup singers he used.  And, I still want a new original cd.

Ghits -N/A   

List the 5 greatest songs not sung by the group's primary lead vocalist(s). Ex: "Yellow Submarine". Use your discretion in determining who the lead vocalist(s) is/are.

Kiss – Beth

The Who - My Wife

Heart – These Dreams

Feeling That Way - Journey - Gregg Rollie

I know what I want - Cheap Trick -Tom Petterson

June Reviews

E – Eels have always been hit and miss with me.  Hadn’t heard this one before, but it’s a winner.  Excellent songwriting, poignant lyrics and simple, easy-going pop tunes.  Zune pegged this as a 1992 release, but it doesn’t sound dated at all.   E at his best is able to blend his melancholy side with a streak of optimism both musically and lyrically, and he’s at his best here.  4 stars

Royal Southern Brotherhood – I was in Memphis last month.  Walking on Beale Street, I heard a different band that sounded exactly like this one about every 100 feet.  When you’re outside on a pleasant spring night with a cold beer in your hands, that’s not a bad thing.  When you’re in a cubicle on a Monday afternoon, it’s a different story.  This band has a nice pedigree and good chops but not much originality.  Competent, but ultimately unfulfilling blues-tinged rock.  2.5 stars

Best Coast – Maybe it’s the longer days and the warmer weather, but this slice of girly-pop connected with me.  Simple pop music that reminded me of Liz Phair’s better qualities at times.  One thing I liked is that although they’re a two-piece, they don’t rely on electronica, using real drums and real guitars throughout the disc.  It doesn’t hit a bulls-eye consistently, but when it does, it fills a void vacated by the Go-Gos long ago. 3.5 stars

Peter Gabriel –  Look, I like and respect Peter Gabriel.  I pegged “Scratch My Back” as a one-off oddball choice by a notoriously eccentric artist. This 6 hour long live set featuring every song from said lp in the exact same format was damn near coma-inducing.  The re-arrangements of some of his best songs didn’t help, as not one of them was remotely close in quality to the original versions.  1 star

TSAR –  Almost sure Fearless Leader sent me this years ago.  Not much I can say about it other than it rocks.  Hooks are huge, guitar work is good, harmonies are great.  Why haven’t they released another album since?  4 stars

Discussion Question – Should have done 10, cut-down to 5 was brutal. In no particular order…

1) “Before They Make Me Run” – Rolling Stones (Keef) ok, that one is in order….
2) “Texarkana” – REM (Mike Mills)
3) “My Wife” – The Who (John Entwistle)
4) “Tempted” – Squeeze (Paul Carrack)
5) “Decoration Day” – Drive By Truckers (Jason Isbell)