!!! (chk chk chk) "Thr!!!er"

 

Help me out by clicking here to go back to my post on this band's last album in 2010.  Thank you.  Saves time.  I made many of the same comparisons as before, i.e. Scissor Sisters, Radio 4, LCD Soundsystem, etc..  "Sweaty and loose" has now morphed into "funky and loose" on this album and it is positively outstanding!  For example, when the vocalist starts working the falsetto, I noted similarities to The Ohio Players, Prince, The Bee Gees and Dag, whom none of you probably know, but was an excellent white-boy funk band from North Carolina in the 90's.  Now a visual funk example culled from a French public radio station...

 

 
Slightly restrained and off-key (never said the dude was an excellent singer) but if you didn't pick up on the "Stayin' Alive" riff in there...what cave have you been residing?!  Now here is another track from the record performed live just three days ago.  The audio is clean but the camera tries to follow the singer so it's a bit frantic...

 

 

A review or two mentioned a Rolling Stones "Some Girls" connection and dammit if those shorts aren't the album cover.  I also got more of a New Wave feel from "Thr!!!ler" than the post punk of the previous album.  I shouted "Heaven 17" at more than one point during my spins.

 

All you fools who bought the Daft Punk RAM record and sent it to #1 on at least twenty charts owe this band a chance.  I'll take "Thr!!!er" over that piece of calculated crap EVERY day...

Black Sabbath "13" Deluxe Set

 

Yes, I bought it, just like so many others around the world.  #1 in the US, Canada, UK, etc., etc., etc..  When you consider that it's been 35 years since Ozzy did a studio album with them, that's a lot of musically-inclined/aware humans who've never experienced a current, Ozzy-fronted Black Sabbath recording.  Never seemed to matter to me who was singing (I had nine Sabbath albums; 3 Ozzy, 2 RJD, 2 Tony Martin, and one each with Ian Gillan and Glenn Hughes), it was the sludgy, metal music from Tony Iommi's mind and stubbed digits.  "13" follows the Sabbath blueprint laid down from the beginning, and it is a worthy addition to the catalog and history of the band.  Ozzy is lucid and coherent, Geezer's lyrics are reflective of the times, and Tony's tone is ageless.  The standard version (the deluxe version doesn't seem so special as it's EVERYWHERE!) is chocked full of 7+ minute songs, each holding a few moments of outstanding riffs, occasionally reminding me of Rush in a few places.  As it turns out, the shorter songs are stronger (not necessarily the three extra ones), and here is a favorite with some archival footage...



Never dreamed I'd add another Black Sabbath album to my collection, but I have...

The Dear Hunter "Migrant"

I have a couple of tracks by the group Deerhunter which were interesting enough to check out new music when it appeared.  Spotted this on the release sheet and made the buy.  "Hmmm, this doesn't sound anything like the other songs," was my initial thought until I discovered my mistake, which is an easy one to make based on the name only.  Called up WPRK one day and the kid thought I was talking about Deerhoof.  "Nope, The Dear Hunter."  "Deer Tick?"  "Nevermind..."  See what I mean?  Obviously, I had to perform a bit of research to uncover the error of my ways.  I actually located the new album by Deerhunter and eventually passed on it as it turned out to be too noisy for my liking.

This Dear Hunter is essentially one guy, Casey Crescenzo, borne from a band I'd never heard of out of the Boston area.  There is a lot of familial assistance according to the credits (I've read where both of his parents were employed at the legendary Record Plant studio in CA.), plenty of engineering, and a multitude of strings, horns and keys.  My first thought was a band called The Velvet Teen, a California group that really scored with me about ten years ago and had three tremendous art-pop records (rumor is another is in the can).  What the hell, they need to be heard and here is an example for your own comparison...



Based on all the strings on Migrant, I found myself thinking ELO a couple of times and Muse another one or two, the latter because this guy's singing has a Freddy Mercury-flair like Bellamy does.  Ours and Portugal. The Man are two other bands which came to mind, most likely because I have new albums from both (posts to come, of course).  There isn't much available in the way of videos for this album, so here is a trailer for the record...



I don't normally post just straight-up image videos, but this is without a doubt the best song on the album and one of the best I've heard all year.  Judging from the evidence on the video's post, I'm not alone in feeling that way.  Over 20,600 views in five months, 197 of 198 give it a thumbs up, and a couple of comments liken it to dredg...



I guess the dredg comparison is there now that it's been mentioned.  Maybe that has helped drive sales as this album has gone as high as #57 on Billboard's Top 200, easily their best chart performance.  I've also discovered an adventurous back catalog and an interesting future project slated to begin soon.  He's composing a four-movement symphony with an orchestra in the Czech Republic and started a fund raising campaign on PledgeMusic eight days ago that is already at 87% with 52 days remaining!

I was all set to say I would be paying my ultimate compliment to an artist/band by purchasing some back catalog (which I will still do), but now I'm going to one-up myself and become pledge #825 in this future endeavor.

The Wicked Mercy

I had not heard of this band at all before BKP popped it into a late June care package.  He said he took a chance on it himself, and I can't speak for him, but me likey...

I alluded to this record a couple of weeks ago in a post on The Shouting Matches.  I get a lot of TP & the Heartbreakers in the style and a little Eric Burdon in the vocal.  I made one note about a song invoking The Cult and another raising Blue Oyster Cult...



It's nothing that hasn't been done before yet it grows on you with its gritty hooks.



From Canada, they list Grand Funk Railroad, The Rolling Stones and R.L. Burnside as influences and are apparently attempting to appeal to the legion of Black Keys fans.  Sure, why not...  I found it to pair nicely with the Gary Hoey on the same disc, which means this is a short (37 minutes) record, too.  I only see it available to the States as a $9 download and I'd be pleased with the purchase if I had made it (thanks again, BKP). 

These guys call themselves "Ottawa’s four emissaries of apocalyptic blues."  I don't know about that, but I will seek them out in the future.

Gary Hoey "Deja Blues"

 

This was in a BKP musical care package a couple of months ago, a name I had written off after he kept putting out multiple surf-styled Christmas albums.  He was originally in a band called Heavy Bones, whose one record on WB in 1991 was quite good in a glam/pop/rock vein.  His solo cover of Hocus Pocus brought him to the MTV masses.  He moved from Boston to the left coast and fell into the Dick Dale style of music, hence the rather successful Xmas series.  He played with Todd Rundgren as a "friend" at the turn of the century and made some money recreating David Gilmour solos on Pink Floyd tributes before hooking up with Lita Ford on the second release in her over-50 comeback (no, it wasn't good).  So you'll understand why I waited several weeks before committing this to a disc for play in the car. 

And I'm sorry I waited...



He said this was the record he's always wanted to make.  Well, gotdammit, why did it take so long?!  Because he didn't have the money, apparently.  Found out this was a Kickstarter project last year so his backers must have received their copies in November.  I found another release date from March and now Amazon has had it since May.  It's not a long record @ 38 minutes, but it's solid throughout.  Puts me in the mind of a Pat Travers-type sound.  Mostly originals with a couple of covers (I could do the remainder of the year without another mediocre version of "Born Under A Bad Sign") and a few guests you may know, like Frank Hannon from Tesla and Jon Butcher. 



And the guy's got some decent vocal chops, too, so why has he done primarily instrumental albums? 

Hey, Gary?  Ditch the coast and head for the Delta...

Stereophonics "Graffiti On The Train"

 

I purchased this four months ago today without a second thought.  I was/am a big fan of the UK alt/pop-rock movement of the 90's which gave us bands like The Charlatans, Manic Street Preachers, Oasis, Mansun, Ocean Colour Scene, Travis etc., etc., etc..  Stereophonics has a major asset in the songwriting abilities of frontman Kelly Jones, and this album as a whole is a wonderful example.  The title track is as good as anything I've heard this year, giving me goose bumps no matter how many times I hear it...

 



As I finished up multiple spins last week, I began to finally research some info for you.  Many are citing U2 and Coldplay as references, which I don't get from a musical standpoint, but maybe they mean having a similar chart impact.  This debuted at #3 in the UK and hasn't fallen off in the five months it's been out.  It's hit nine other charts for twenty-one weeks, none of which were the U.S., but there's a reason I'll get to in a minute.  Allow me to offer a live version of what was the pre-release lead single...



Dammit, he sounds like Tim Finn several places on the record...not a bad thing, at all. 

As I scanned down the band's discography, none of the titles stirred the dusty vaults of my mind but the album covers looked familiar since we sold a shitpot full of the first two albums to all the Brits shopping on I-Drive.  The third full-length was the only one to crack the American Top 200, but it was album four from the summer of '03 that hit the Big Time in the UK and Europe, peaking at #1 with a chart run through the fall of '04.  They've been a stadium filler over there since then.  Anyway, I was almost certain I had one or both of the early records but couldn't be sure since the musical cobwebs were thick, so I hauled out the R - Z volume of my catalog and nope, no sheet for Stereophonics.  Sonofabitch, I suppose I gave the demos to store employees who also fell under the spell of the pop sensibilities of this band.  No matter, this is an easy add to the catalog...

I purchased a deluxe edition with three extra tracks, one is a longer, "stripped" version of the title track (just as good, if not better than the original), and a remix of this one...



Yep, chocked full of great songs.  So where can my American friends get their copy?  Nowhere, mon frère, not until the Tuesday post Labor Day, and I'm unsure if you'll have the option of the extra songs, either.  Look for this cover, too... 

Tom Keifer "The Way Life Goes"

 

I was somewhat surprised to see this on a release schedule.  Cinderella was massive in the late 80's but Keifer had problems with a vocal chord and a fourth album took four years to appear.  By that time, Grunge had killed the Hair-metal star.  Keifer relocated to Nashville and the band would reform and tour off & on over the years.  Rumors circulated forever about a solo, yet I had given up on it ever happening.  Well, here it is and right out of the box I got mixed reviews from two of my former M4L managers.  Lovely Miss AJ chimed in first and highly recommended it while shortly thereafter, Wayner gave it a hearty raspberry.  I will split the difference and settle in on a 50/50 call.

A solid opening track and lead single...



Damn scream put to rest any vocal chord problems...  I don't know about you but I keep breaking into "Every Picture Tells A Story."  There's some more of that early-70's Hot Rod sound later on in the album (and a smidgen of Chris Robinson), too,  but it is completely overwhelmed by the Aerosmith blueprint that dominates well over half the record.  I get it, I know what's going on here...the Bostonians are legends and sell, sell, sell, but if I had wanted the new Aerosmith album I would have purchased it (and I didn't). 

With that said, I must note there is plenty of radio-ready rock & roll on this album, but the question is whether radio today wants it.  There are also a couple of tracks that I could not listen to again after spin one.  Pressing the "skip" button is generally not an option but these two tracks were formulaic and just plain awful.  Oddly enough, those two turds were both solo compositions by TK.  Co-writing three songs would be one fellow named Jim Peterik.  99% of you know "Eye Of The Tiger" by his group, Survivor.  He landed on my twelve-year-old brain with "Vehicle" by Blood, Sweat &...no wait...The Ides Of March (not nice to fool a pre-teen into believing you were David Clayton Thomas).  Two of Mr. Peterik's three credits are worthy of keeping.  One of those is also co-written with TK's wife, Savannah, a Nashville-based songwriter.  You know the joke, everybody in Nashville is a singer, songwriter or label exec.  I'll be damned if I could find anything she's written of note, but marry a rocker and, by God, you'll get songs on an album!  Here's Tom and the Missus doing the track...



Somebody in the Country Music Capital of the World needs to buy that song and have one of those young buck stars make it a hit.  Now the other keeper from the pens of TK & JP...



It's a pop rock album, not blues rock, and it's half decent.