Steve Kilbey & Martin Kennedy "You Are Everything"

For the first time in the 3 1/2 years of this blog, I get to directly reference one of my favorite all-time bands.  Most of you think of them as a one-hit wonder while I have twenty-four total albums by the band, their solo projects and direct collaborations (not including guest contributions).  Believe me, that's not as large a number as it sounds in light of the approximately ninety projects out there!

It was early 1982 when I was in Pompano Beach, Florida, living two blocks inland from the beach in an efficiency apartment with a rent that took two jobs to pay.  Needless to say, disposable income was damned near non-existent (thank goodness for a part-time job at a resort on said beach that comped my dining...and an adult beverage or two), but when I had some to spare it went towards weed and vinyl.  One rainy evening, I drove to the record store with nothing particular in mind to buy, just wanted to kill an hour or two.  The clerk kept trying to sell me on a new band that he declared would be a hit...something like "A Swarm of Waterfowl" doing a song called "Iraq" (NOW let's talk one-hit wonders).  Well, he was right about the hit, but I settled on an Australian band with this album cover:

 

No sampling back then, bought it unheard.  Got back to the apt., smoked up a smidge and dropped the needle.  Wasn't enthralled with the first track or two and then click, click, click, click...damn thing was scratched.  Tried returning it for a different selection but nope, had to get another copy.  This one played through and before I realized it, I was hooked!  By God, I had an Australian R.E.M.!  It was five albums later before America found "Under The Milky Way," but I had another favorite band from Down Under.  Saw them live twice, first in the 80's at The Cannery in Nashville (backstage passes, met the band) and then a few years ago here at HOB when they were on an acoustic tour.  I can't say that everything they've done as a group or individually has worked but most of it has.  

 

Kilbey is the bassist, lead vocalist and primary songwriter for The Church.  The band was inducted into the Aussie Hall of Fame in 2010 and he was added to the Songwriters HOF a year later.  I hadn't the slightest idea who Martin Kennedy was, much less his band All India Radio, which I've learned has nine albums of ambient pop music, so on paper it had potential.  I guess it works for them since "You Are Everything" is their third recording together and I've read that a fourth album of commissioned songs was scheduled for release about three weeks ago.  That's right, commissioned songs.  My supposition is they've specialized in music for TV/Films/Commercials and apparently signed a North American deal this past September.  Now that I've done some research, even YOU, dear reader, can have these guys write YOUR song with YOUR directives for $1000 Australian!  Well, why not?  For the music biz model as it currently exists (or doesn't, as some old farts will tell you) that's quite genius. 

 

So coming into this record (which had been available for five months before I stumbled across it) with the brief history I've given you, I was hopeful...yea, though, it falls one track short of a full-fledged keeper.  This was the first single/opening song and definitely most Church-like tune...

 

 

The next two tracks were good, too, including this one, which must reflect Kennedy's background...

 

Unfortunately, even after indulging a party favour for the third trip through the album, the next seven tracks yielded just one keeper until the finale, called "Finale," put a smile across my face. 

I admit to not paying much attention to The Church and its members since that acoustic tour some six or so years ago.  It struck me as "cashing in."  I didn't even attempt to find their last album in 2009,  but now I am curious again after learning of these collaborations and I see from the band's Facebook page that a new album is in the offing, but apparently, long-time guitarist Marty Willson-Piper has opted out of the proceedings and has been replaced by the guitarist from the recently retired Powderfinger.

Hmmmmm, that may just work...

Aynsley Lister "Home"

Discovered this guy a couple of years ago and was impressed enough to add him to my vault's roster.  If you don't want to click this link to the post, I basically said I was reminded most of the late, great SRV.  Not so on this album.  My notes this time mention it "sounds like" Colin James, which means it's closer to smooth-blues than fiery blues, but not necessarily so on the album's title track opener...



Yep, that's from April last year, so the song had to be in its infancy.  The album came out at the end of this past July.  Domestically?  I don't think so but these days it doesn't really matter.  Download it for $9 or you can get a physical version for $15 that ships from somewhere in the U.S., but most outlets for it say "import."  Here are two more tracks for you to digest...



The record isn't sans soft spots as there are a couple of real turkeys early in the second half, but it won me over with each spin as several tracks grew roots that tapped my "pop" lobe.  Couldn't find much in the way of info or other reviews, but what I did locate was wildly positive.  One of the reviewers on Amazon suggested two other successful overseas artists with little or no domestic support, and this, my friends, is an example of how I discover some of these hidden musical gems. 

Eight good tracks, two average, two turds = keeper #2 by Mister Lister.

Gov't Mule "Shout!"

I handed over the "Guests" CD to a friend at one of my favorite adult beverage retail establishments and he said, "Damn, you do like some Gov't Mule."  Yes, yes I do.  The Mule and/or Warren Haynes occupies the biggest file on my portable device.  BKP has provided several officially sanctioned concert boots which also monopolize a majority portion of the desktop's music file.  You never know what they will cover and they certainly don't reproduce a track note-for-note like The Killers.  Let's go back to that "Guests" part.  By now, most of you know this is a Mule CD with a second disc of specially selected artists assisting/interpreting an appropriate track.  The first guest I heard about was Dave Matthews...and I wasn't thrilled.  Not a fan.  What the hell could he do that would top the original (nothing, as I assumed...)?  I believe that was the reason I sat on this for a couple of months...well, that plus it's 138 minutes of music (times 3) to play before attempting a post.  So here we go.......

The Mule disc is a 9 on a 10 scale, the only demerit being the reggae-tinged track.  Didn't work on either disc, for that matter.  The album's opener, "World Boss," is such a hot track that even I could sing it and it would be good (that may be a stretch).  Ben Harper does the honors on the alternative take and performs admirably, but there was no chance of besting the original.  As far as "besting the original," only two artists qualify for the honor.  One is a song that Haynes spoke about in an interview saying it was unlike anything he'd written for Mule before, that it harkened back to the late 70's and a band called The Attractions.  So guess who does the guest spot?  Correct, you old farts...



Bizarre little video but the song sounds as if it could have been a bonus track on any of My Aim/Model/Armed/Happy.  The other topper that sounded like it was written for him belongs to Dr. John, ten indulgent minutes which Haynes said was actually written with Sly & the Family Stone's "Fresh" album in mind.  The other guests who earned keeper status with their interpretations are Jim James, Glenn Hughes (though it took him a second to warm into it), and Steve Winwood.  I expected Grace Potter to make the fold but no matter how much I love this woman (and would love to love this woman...I'm old, not dead), it did not work.  I found a snippet of a live version that has more smoke in it than the entire studio cut...



Damn, is that girl a white-woman-Tina Turner with those legs and voice or what?  I'm going to wrap up with Haynes doing a solo take of the track that Winwood does for the second CD. 



The man is easily one of the greatest talents in rock music over the past two decades...

Nine Inch Nails "Hesitation Marks"

With an album title questioning suicide, I thought Mr. Reznor was going back to being the angry little fucker of twenty years ago.  He's still lyrically skeptical here but musically this album is damn near danceable!  Hell, one track sounded like a cross of Underworld and Yello!  That ought to really disappoint the stubborn, narrow-minded fans (who haven't grown up yet) of the early NIN days.  Me?  Yeah, I was one of the earliest fans, too, having been all over Pretty Hate Machine from its 4th Q, 1989 release.  When the initial Lollapalooza tour announced a stop for Orlando in August, 1991, I knew where my butt would be planted.  Got there early and squatted a spot some thirty feet back and slightly left of center stage.  Henry Rollins killed it, the Butthole Surfers lit it up (yes to what you are thinking), Ice-T & Body Count hit the rap/metal button, then Fishbone put the party back on ground zero.  Next up was NIN, who had announced that the Orlando stop would be their last on the tour, and Trent and the boys proceeded to absolutely mangle the stage, literally.  I nearly blew a fuse when they covered Queen's "Get Down, Make Love," and by the time they got to the closer of "Head Like A Hole," several of the previous acts joined in and they destroyed every piece of musical equipment within twenty feet of the stage.  Awesome! 

I bought this new record the week it was released, but it stayed in the pile until the week before Halloween, which was the night of their local tour stop.  I halfheartedly imagined that if the album was a monster I'd go to the show, even though there wasn't the remotest possibility of it topping '91. 

Didn't go to the concert.  Not keeping the album as a whole.

Definitely keeping the opening salvo...and apparently the live show's initial blast, too...



There is plenty to like after this...beeps, boops, loops, Skinny Puppy-ish programming, but it took twenty-five more minutes before I found two more tracks worth retaining.  No wonder Adrian Belew bowed out of touring.  I knew he was on the record but I'll be damned if I would have realized it had I not known.  Same goes for a Lindsey Buckingham guitar contribution.  Really?  Where?

I purchased the deluxe edition (it was the same price as the single disc...duh!) and the three reworked tracks were not among my keepers, however, two of the three remixes were superior to their originals.  Each spin through the disc I kept noting the second remix was outstanding, so I finally picked up the info sheet and...well, I'll be damned..."All Time Low (Todd Rundgren Remix)."  Touched by the genius of The Runt. 

If you're keeping score, that's 28 worthy minutes out of seventy-nine, which is twenty-eight more than the project Reznor did with his wife, How To Destroy Angels.  Talk about the "Yoko Factor"...yeesh...but I digress.  "Hesitation Marks" debuted in the Top 10 in at least a dozen markets (I found two #1's), but it's average chart run was less than a month everywhere except in the U. S., and it dropped off here at the end of October. 

I'll let you tie the ends...

The Winery Dogs

 

If you are one of the ten people out there who have been waiting for a Mr. Big Vol. 2 reunion, then this is as good as it gets.  Ah, that's not fair, really, because this is more a "supergroup" now and Richie Kotzen was only with Mr. Big after Paul Gilbert bowed out.  Bassist extraordinaire Billy Sheehan is still one of the best out there in rock land and he and RK are joined here by drummer Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater fame.  Correct are you to guess this is a stereotypical classic rock ripper.  Kotzen sings like Chris Cornell at times (and there are plenty of comparisons of this album to Soundgarden all over the blogosphere) and then comes off like David Coverdale on others.  BKP opined that it sounded like a matured Van Halen (makes sense as Sheehan played with DL Roth) but it struck me more as a Van Hagar brand.  I remembered seeing the lead video months ago and liked it...



...but from this point on, I labeled it "too serious," whatever that means.  Probably because I had noted Chickenfoot as a contemporary, a band that always seem to be having fun.  I only found one more track to keep after the requisite three spins, so I searched for it to add here and found this Chicago radio station's segment containing an acoustic version (cool!) with a short interview at the outset...



The album landed high on all the various Rock charts and inside the Top 30 of the overall big boy.  Saw several live videos from their tour in Brazil.  That proves these guys are veterans as that market is sure to love what they do.  The record is five months old (I know, I'm soooooooooooo behind), but if you've got an old metalhead on your Christmas gift list, this would be perfect.

Editors "The Weight Of Your Love"

 

I bought this about six weeks after its release in July and then waited nearly three months to pop it into rotation.  I so adored their last record in 2010 so why the hesitation?  I believe it was rooted in a call to WPRK around Labor Day when I heard the distinctive vocals of Tom Smith emanating from the auto's radio.  I asked the female DJ if the track was from the new Editors album and my phone suddenly turned very cold as she replied, "No, it's from their first album.  They've gone downhill since."  BRRRRR!!!!  Well, she was partially correct as this album falls very short of my personal standard for the band.

First listen, track one.....ummm, maybe that will grow on me.  Track two.....five-star song...



And that, my friends, was the single highlight of the entire record.  There were a couple of marginal tracks (I'll actually keep just one more), some interesting lyrics and Smith's cool voice.  However, I'm going to say this album suffers from Simple Minds Syndrome.  You know what that is, right?  The disease that affects front man vocalists which alters their view of reality, causing them to believe they can carry a band by themselves.  Happened to Icehouse, too.  There are a couple of songs on here that wouldn't have made the cut on a Comsat Angels album and one that would have ended up on the editing room floor of a Fields Of The Nephilim session.  Thank goodness for the acoustic versions of two said marginal tracks included at the end of my purchase, both far superior to the originals, which were bathed in bad New Wave.  Here is one from a German morning show...



My notes all had a theme in common, "What's happened to them?"  Now I know.  The guitarist left the band and there are two new members in his stead...hardly ever a good sign.  And why on earth would you take this band to Nashville to record?  Bad, bad, bad idea...  They've never had much success here in America with only one of their records cracking the Top 200...and it ain't this one.  Signs of disenchantment from their British base, too, as this one peaked at #6 when the previous two were #1.  They've had their best chart runs in Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands. 

Dude, just go solo if you want to do another album like this...