Panic! At The Disco "Vices & Virtues"

Absolutely loved their album "Pretty. Odd." from 2008, and so did America, pushing it to #2 on the Billboard Top 200.  It was on the strength of that record that I purchased "Vices & Virtues" without hesitation.  What I got was about half of what I'd hoped for.  Hell, if I had known that I was only getting half the band that made "Pretty Odd" (I'm really over the various punctuation marks...give it a rest, kids), I wouldn't have been so quick to add the new record to my cart.  The half I did receive was the adventurous Beatlesque elements that made "PO" so wonderful, but they were only used to draw me in, and then the predictable power pop crap that's strewn all over radio today finished up.  Where I anticipated an enlightened improvement, I got a watered down blend of albums one and two. 

Ah, I guess it's not that bad.  I like blends when it comes to my wine, but one hardly ever WOWS.  Same goes for "V&V."  It has enough hooks to make you la la la into acceptance, but I don't want another bottle, either.  It does finish well (ooh, another wine term) as the final two tracks are the albums highlights, showing the maturity and variety I had expected. 

Soooooooo, I guess I'll keep it, but I won't jump so fast on the next release. 

East River Pipe "We Live in Rented Rooms"

I discovered this guy several years ago playing required new music on my heralded WPRK morning drive show "PM in the AM."  And it really is just one man with that tortured artist history of alcohol, drugs, depression, living in a train station, etc..  Enter lovely woman who hears his songs and rescues him, sobering him up and making a TASCAM his drug of choice.  Well, all I know is that the 2003 album "Garbageheads on Endless Stun" was a hypnotic effort unlike most everything else at the time and I was hooked, enough so that I purchased the next recording in 2006, though I was completely out of the music biz.  And here it is another five years later and ERP has maybe his finest effort yet.  So what was he doing in those five years?  Touring?  Making videos?  Nope.  How about raising a daughter and working at Home Depot?  Ding ding ding!  Correct answer!  Hard to believe, but true, music for the music's sake, not fame and fortune.  Apparently, he's afraid of touring, fearing an urge to relapse into previous hells.  Subsequently, a web search for East River Pipe videos won't get much at all, but here is a link to the album cover while one of my favorites from the record plays. 

Though I never heard it in his music, ERP is a David Byrne fan, and visa-versa, as Mr. Byrne has covered ERP songs.  It's the one-man band set up like Toney Carey/Planet P.  The treated vocals remind me of an early Beck recording.  The lyrics have a David Lowery/Cracker intelligence without the humor...quite the opposite.  The overall main comparison I would make would be Karl Wallinger/World Party on Quaaludes.  "...Rented Rooms" is best absorbed with a nice, relaxed buzz. 

This record is well worth the $9 -$14 you'll spend on it, depending on format.  I'll make it easy for you...here's the link to Merge Records.  There's also a Facebook page that he is actually active on.  Look it up.  Finally, I'll share this from the record label's site.  I couldn't have put it any better...
East River Pipe's music has been described by the New York Times as "gentle, smart, and unspeakably sad." Rolling Stone characterized him as "one of our generation's great eccentric songwriters." Sometimes harrowing, occasionally scathing, and often heartbreakingly beautiful...

The Juke Joints "Going to Chicago!"

Simply put, this is one of the best ensemble blues recordings I've heard in quite some time, and the band is from Holland!  This is album #11 from a history beginning in 1985.  As much as I search for International releases, I am surprised they have eluded my ears until now.  And it was only because I liked the name Juke Joints for a blues band that made me point my mouse to "Sample." 

First track in, I'm thinking Kim Wilson and the Fabulous Thunderbirds.  Next track, John Mayall.  Catch the theme yet?  Correct!  Harmonica, and lots of it.  Excellent guitar, too.  And a singing drummer, for crying out loud....from Holland?!  Shitwow...  There's a Memphis/Stax tribute song and, of course, Chicago blues, as evidenced by the "special guests" stamped on the front, Eddy Clearwater and Ronnie Baker Brooks, and the record was produced in the Windy City by Mr. Brooks.  The other name, Ana Popovic, is a Serbian blues guitarist whom you will say you heard about her first through the Mad Rocker.  Let's see...other names that sprang to mind while listening to this CD were Doyle Bramhall II and British blues band The Hoax.  That's mighty high praise indeed, as I consider The Hoax one of the 90's best bands, period. 

There isn't much on the web video wise, and this is the best one I could find.  From it, I get a slight Foghat vibe I didn't get from this album, but that's not a bad thing.  You'll see they are a four-piece band, but "Going to Chicago" has a liberal sprinkling of Hammond B-3 throughout.  I can't say for sure, but probably a Chicago session player, but a welcome addition, nonetheless.  There's a trait in the vocals that's stirred some of the tiny demons in my mind, but after repeated spins, I still can't quite pin down who it's reminiscent of.  Ah, it'll come to me eventually...

There are five of the eleven Juke Joint releases available in the US, and this may be one of the RARE occasions where I actually go backwards and buy a catalogue selection.  If you are like me and wonder why the Blues make you feel so good, then spend the $10 and get this record.  You will be smilin' right along with me...

Noah & the Whale "Last Night on Earth"

The name of the band stuck in my mind.  Ah, heck, let's buy the third album.  Heard it was British folk music.  My mind generated a Mumford wife.  It turned out to be the Cars playing Tom Petty and Bob Seger songs.  Maybe a distant Suburbs relative.  Wait, was that Robyn Hitchcock?

What I've learned is that this is an electronic departure from their first two releases.  Plenty of acoustics, but apparently not as many as before.  Wonder how many original fans hated this(...to be continued...)?  Their biggest seller yet.  Top 10 UK charts and worldwide sales highest ever.  This was the first single.  Damn, as I play it, I get a Bob Geldof/Boomtown Rats vibe. 

Released in March, it's only $8 (for 33 minutes).  Hey, that's pretty current for YeOldeMadRocker (not for nothin' but I already have Blondie's new record that comes out stateside three weeks from now...). 

Hey, I've done my job.  I've given you half-a-dozen RIYL's.  Just in case you're wondering, I didn't keep a damn song...



Chapel Club "Palace"

This is a new band from London that I saw on the UK charts several weeks ago.  It's a major label release, so it should have some marketing money behind it.  I can't quite put it in the Shoegaze category as others have, but I understand their reasoning.  Here is a video of one of the best tracks of the record, so you can decide for yourself.  I just watched it, too, and for once I actually think the video adds a positive aspect to the music.  I get the Smiths comparisons for the monotone voice, but I was never a Morrissey fan, so yep, that sameness does not endear this record to me as a whole.  A track or two at a time, OK.  I did hear the New Order influence the bands lists, but my experience takes me back further in years than the members', and I believe they are a dead ringer for Chameleons UK crossed with a generous dose of Big Country. 

"Palace" has had some moderate success in Europe and Asia.  It's only $8 here in the States, so if you are a fan of this style, help 'em chart, will ya?

Railroad Earth

When I saw this band name on my favorite music site's page, a tiny little demon in the dark recesses of my brain cried out for attention.  "Click it, click it, click it...but don't ask me why 'cause I'll never tell," was the message I was receiving.  Ah, heck, why not?  Well, the little voice was right, this album has been very difficult to remove from the changer.  Dare I say, another top release for this year.

OK, so it came out last October.  When I do my "Best Of" lists, I always include 4th quarter releases from the previous year.  I just don't understand the justice of one quick spin to write a review for the day of release.  It's not fair to the artist to judge in an hour what may be months of work and passion.  I've been playing this for over two months, but it's time to clear the slot for something else, and there are plenty of promising releases on my "Investigate" list.  So let's see what I discovered about the band...

Well, well, well...Railroad Earth rose from the ashes of a band in the 90's that RCA pushed hard to our music chain, From Good Homes.  They had a country-ish vibe that didn't fit with their state of origin, New Jersey, and their music was fondly deemed "hick-pop."  I absolutely loved the two studio albums but they didn't sell as well as other acts of the day, like Hootie's Blowfish and Stoned Matthews Band, so RCA cast them aside.  The band fell apart shortly thereafter and I lost track of the splinters.  Obviously, Railroad Earth was the next vehicle for FGH bandleader Todd Sheaffer, and they began recording ten years ago.  I know I read about this band somewhere (probably the demon voice reminding me), but I doubt the FGH connection was ever made or I would have jumped on them sooner.  So I only have this self-titled release to go by and I hear plenty of FGH in it.  In my notes I called them a bluegrass-rock jam band with the occasional Celtic streak.  Yeah, I know, what the heck is that?  So here is a video of the first single for an example, though it doesn't do complete justice to my description.  That's a job for the full record.  There is an eleven minute instrumental that's got to be phenomenal in a live setting, and for those of you lucky readers with Bonnaroo tickets, don't miss them as they open the Sunday slate next weekend.  As I listened to the CD, I heard Wilco, Ryan Adams, Pat Simmons-fronted Doobie Bros., String Cheese Incident and Leftover Salmon.  And for those of you who finally jumped on the Mumford & Sons bandwagon, you MUST hitch a ride on the Railroad Earth train. 

The Magic Numbers "The Runaway" Limited Edition

I believe I ran across this while searching the UK charts a couple of months ago.  My guess is it had reappeared when the Limited Edition was released.  The original came out last July, so I guess adding four live tracks worked its intent.  I liked what I sampled so I took the dive.  And it's a keeper.

As I have learned, "The Runaway" is their third record, a departure from the first two, and comparatively a disappointment according to the charts and sales.  The first two LP's cracked the UK Top 10 Albums and the debut charted four singles.  That's setting the bar quite high out of the box.  "Runaway" barely crept past 50 before the Ltd.Ed. came out, and I don't know how far the reissue moved up, if so.  From what I've read, it's not as happy, poppy, hooky as its predecessors, but I have no exposure to them, and I believe this album stands on its own sound very well.  Let me list the artists that sprang to mind while listening to this record; Mama & Papas, Prefab Sprout, Dream Academy, Fleet Foxes, early MMJ, and Angus & Julia Stone.  Imagine my surprise when I found out that, much like the Stone kids, Magic Numbers are two sets of siblings.  Can't say the sisters fit the "beard rock" moniker like the guys, so let's call the girls gothy.  Who cares when they craft a record like this beauty?  They employ lots of 60's studio tricks, reverb, multitrack vocals, etc., strings and brass, and the overall production has that warm, fuzzy feeling.  The final studio track is split between a song and a gorgeous 4 1/2 minute orchestral piece, a fitting finish for the CD.  The four live tracks are on their own disc, which is a smart move since they are repeat songs from the studio record.  I wasn't initially impressed with the vocals, but the one track where they faltered could have been early in the set and/or the sound man hadn't adjusted the knobs properly.  The music is outstanding, so I would suggest a video search for some of the live excerpts if interested. 

Don't look for "Runaway" domestically.  It's available at a reasonable price for import, but stick to the original version.  I don't feel the live tracks justify the extra $7.

Red Box "Plenty"

I come across these things in all manner of ways, and this one was different from any before.  I had to move one of the big storage containers full of vinyl for a carpet repair job, and the only way to do so was empty it enough to allow it to be picked up.  Well, I can't just grab stacks of my vinyl (which see daylight only once or twice a year) without thumbing through a few and traipsing down Memory Lane.  I came across this record and the memories came flooding back. 

The cover was in excellent condition, but I know the vinyl had hundreds of spins in its history.  This came out in 1986 with little fanfare, just another of the many two-person English new wave bands happening during that time; Yaz, Erasure, OMD, Pet Shop Boys, etc..  I put it in light rotation in-store at the old Custom Sound location in the mall in Tullahoma.  Over the course of the next few months, this record got better and better, slowly but surely sinking its hooks in me.  A couple of the tracks hit the Top 10 in the UK, and apparently are still staples of British radio today.  Here's the original video for "Lean On Me", which went to #3.  You'll hear some of the vocal chorus effect that was used extensively throughout the album.  The record also featured a substantial portion of Native American Indian-styled chants and other World influences, similar to a very successful album in the same year doing the same thing, Paul Simon's "Graceland."  So let me summarize and say that it took well over a year for "The Circle & the Square" to become one of my most favorite records from the last half of the 80's. 

Now that I've offered my Memory Lane story, suffice it to say that I really wanted to hear TC&TS again, and since I'm sans a record player, off I went to the Internet to see if I could possibly find it available somewhere, anywhere.  Imagine my surprise to discover it had been re-released in 2008, along with a second album from 1990 that I never knew existed.  "Motive" was also a major label release, but I was probably so busy with the Music 4 Less expansion in Orlando and elsewhere that it slipped past me.  And hello?!  What is this?  A release from October of last year called "Plenty?"  Surely that's not new...

But it is.  And I purchased it immediately.  The European import with an additional six songs.  Straight into the changer at position #1.  In no way, shape or form did I expect 80's-era music, but I admit to being surprised at the quiet beauty of the album.  Down to one member, Simon Toulson-Clarke, "Plenty" is the definition of an Adult Alternative Contemporary record, mostly three to four minute songs with worldly lyrical content, set upon a soft musical palate of acoustics, piano, occasional strings, etc..  Of the fourteen domestic tracks, only three hark back the twenty-something years to a more full-bodied arrangement, flashing a chant or two, too.  This was the first single, "Hurricane", and my favorite of the record.  Just this week, the second single was released, "The Sign," one of the other two tracks with ties to the past sound.  Overall, the record is expertly played, as I'm sure Mr. T-C called in plenty of favors.  He has remained in the music biz as a consultant to A&R, producer and songwriter, so why not get some contacts to help out.  He's not the strongest of vocalists, and it's more noticeable in the stripped-down instrumentation of this album, but that's not a concern to Europeans.  It reminds me of Tony Carey/Planet P and how he was a master of the keyboards but not a microphone.  American audiences want all the vocal histrionics.  Eeesshh, just sing with passion, please . 

So I am adding "Plenty" to the vault, though certainly not a typical Mad Rocker selection, based on how long it took TC&TS to get to me.  While researching for this post, I found a review with a summary that stated it quite well, from rockfeedback.com: 

"Plenty is a beautiful album, as out of time and place as the band have always been, even during their early flush of success. It has been released without much fanfare, which is a shame, as it will have an appreciative audience if they can find it."