October Musings

Cold War Kids – Reminded me of Modest Mouse, a band whose popularity is beyond my comprehension.  There’s absolutely nothing about this album that is above, or for that matter below, mediocre.  Mediocre sound, mediocre songs, mediocre production.  Guess what kind of rating it gets from me?  2 stars

Off With Their Heads – The best stuff on this reminds me of Social Distortion, notably “Shirts”.  Nothing like a little pop sensibility mixed in with a punk attitude.  “Don’t Make Me Go” was a nice change of pace from the incessant 4/4 timing of the rest of the disc.  Would have been nice if they did another one, or a twanger to further shake things up.  That said, they do what they do well despite the obvious limitations of having a vocalist who gargles with razor blades.   3.5 stars

Elton – Sometimes you can see exactly where the wave breaks. Yes, there are a few exceptions to be found on either side of it, but “Captain Fantastic” is the dividing line between great Elton and not-so-much Elton.  Short on “hits”, but long on quality, this song cycle about his writing partnership with Bernie Taupin is indeed fantastic from start to finish.  The band is at the peak of their abilities, deftly moving from rock to ballads to dare I say, Americana.  Not the greatest album he made (“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”), but certainly his last great album. 4.5 stars

Kiss – Interesting that this would be reviewed with “Captain Fantastic”.  Like “Captain”, this lp is a definite dividing line between the band’s good and not so good stuff.  However while Elton’s is “fantastic”,  “Love Gun” mostly shoots blanks.   Having released 2  good albums the year before, there isnt enough quality material on this record, evidenced by the pointless cover needed just to get to 10 tracks.  Title track is a killer and “Tomorrow and Tonight” is a nice change of pace but  Ace and Peter’s typically standout tracks are nothing special here.  The whole thing feels like they were striking while the iron was hot, regardless of whether they had the songs to back it up.  2.5 stars

Dusty Springfield – As an unabashed lover of girly pop, this was a collection I am glad to have.   Springfield has an incredible voice, and the combination of pop and R&B is irresistible.  I would have put a lot more of “Dusty in Memphis” on here, but strictly as a greatest hits collection, this covers the bases.

Topic –  Think we’ve covered this ground before, but here’s my top 5:

·         “Moon: The Life and Death of a Rock Legend” by Tony Fletcher

·         “Fargo Rock City” by Chuck Klosterman

·         “Chronicles” by Bob Dylan

·         “This Band Could Be Your Life, Scenes From the American Indie Underground” by Michael Azerrad

·         “My Cross to Bear” by Greg Allman