Movin’ On ~ by: Eileen Carey
Last September, All Access Magazine featured a review by Christi Broekemeier of Eileen Carey’s recent hit, “That Was Her, This Is Now,” which appears as the opening track on Carey's current CD, “Movin’ On.” Considering that the song was written by scruffy “Aussie-cowboy” Keith Urban, it could be fair to fit Eileen in a slot similar to the one Keith inhabits, which might be considered “alt-county.” This designation seems to apply to the title track itself, which has a jazzier foundation than some of Eileen’s other major-chord offerings. What’s funny is that another song with a clever title, “He’s Not Mr. Right, He’s Mr. Right Now,” was also penned by men – but Eileen sings it with feeling, making it her own. As a good-looking, sweet-voiced redhead in a twangy field, Eileen has been favorably compared with the likes of Wynonna Judd – and although her pipes might not yet resound with Wynonna’s fabled power, Ms. Carey has time to refine her talent and technique. Among the things she has going for her are an ear for a familiar, friendly tune, and a flair for describing contemporary relationships – both triumphant and tragic. “Stand” and “Faith” both contain positive affirmations, with the latter lit up by propulsive energy, complete with a little guitar solo that meshes well with its empowering message. Eileen tosses in a spoken “okay, girls,” a self-assured styling that’s right there with Shania Twain and Faith Hill. Props to Eileen Carey, for her finesse in the several songs she herself wrote, and for playing her own guitar, and for the promise shown in the closing cut, “Newsflash,” wherein her voice contains a country-tinged authenticity that bodes well for her future efforts.
www.eileencarey.com
M.O.A.B. Stories from Deuteronomy ~ by: Tribe After Tribe
Here’s some interesting socio-political commentary, presented in a thoughtful disk that combines moody rock with dramatic spoken dialogue. With themes that come from both the Old Testament of the Bible and from the pages of today’s newspaper’s “Middle East Report,” the album gives the listener much to contemplate, in addition to much well-crafted music. The song entitled “Holy City Warrior” comes with the smashing kind of one-two guitar-chord crashes made famous by such bands as The Who and AC/DC, and this track alone is well worth the price of the CD. In “Truth and Reconciliation,” the band does a good and timely job of borrowing from U2’s “Rattle and Hum,” speaking about those who run "into the arms of America” – whether as refugees, rioters, or bell-ringers, let one decide for oneself.
Repo! The Genetic Opera ~ Movie Soundtrack
Dang, this is a bit like “Rocky Horror” for a new generation. It’s campy yet crunchy, earnest yet scenery-chewing, corny and horny, with a bit of baloney, but not really phony. You sure get a lot of music on this 22-track disk, and a lot of it is actually quite good. The fusion of elements is delightful in a track like “Zydrate Anatomy,” with a driving metallic intro, a mock-serious doctor singing clinical lyrics, on vox, and all kinds of vicious vixens doing back-up, plus a smorgasbord of sound effects. Please note, Joan Jett makes a guitar appearance on a track called "Seventeen," which is definitely worth a listen.
Tinnitus Sanctus ~ by: Edguy
Fine new release from Nuclear Blast Records. This is a good dose of “mello-yello,” with a solid progressive undercoat. These guys from Germany have been rolling strong since 1992, giving them plenty of time to polish their craft, and it shows on this tasty 11-song disk. In light of Edguy’s Teutonic origin, it’s worth noting that singer Tobias Sammet has a lot of the same emotional inflections as Klaus Meine of The Scorpions – but Sammet’s larynx isn’t quite as limber, so he makes up in effort what he lacks in raw power and range. “Dead Or Rock” is a spunky burner that starts out with a strong rock beat and keeps cranking through. Alternately, an acoustic-heavy bit of wryness called “Aren't You A Little Pervert Too,” comes with a tad of social reflection, like a pearly spread of jam from across the water. Oh, there's one track, “The Pride of Creation,” that has a special attraction for this reviewer, with its discussion of the Creator’s handiwork as seen in such creatures as the aardvark, ha! The guitar team of Jens Ludwig on lead and Dirk Sauer on rhythm works well throughout, backed by Tobias "Eggi" Exxel on bass and Felix Bohnke on drums. Good music, good lyrics and vocals, good stuff!
Visions ~ by: From The Inside
Released by Frontiers Records, the songs on this CD have a positive, progressive, very hummable quality. The disk’s first track, “Light Years,” opens up with a full-sounding keys-and-strings overture that reminds one of Head East’s old opus, “Never Been Any Reason.” It’s a positive exploration that sets the tone for most of the remainder of FTI’s tunes. Singer Danny Vaughn (formerly of Tyketto) is backed by strong instrumental support throughout, in pleasing, heartfelt efforts such as “Making Waves” and “One More Night In Heaven.” Then there’s “If It's Not Love,” which is very much a bombastic power ballad – but a well-done one, at that. Now how about a title like “Listen To Your Heart” – haven't we seen that before? Well, of course, so the trick here for the artist is to go somewhere new with the idea, and FTI succeeds.
Path of Totality ~ by: Cessation of Life
Great tenth effort from a Camarillo-based crew that knows who to deliver a metallic beatdown. Some of us really appreciate a band with an apt motto, and since Cessation of Life’s slogan is “High Velocity Speed Metal,” how much more truth in advertising could you ask for? That’s what they are, what they do, what they deliver on disk, so if that’s what you like, then “Path of Totality” is a logical choice for your collection. The first couple of songs, “Murder in the Pit” and “Waiting for the End,” are thrashy barn-burners, and then comes a curious acoustic interlude called “Admitting,” showing the band's sensitive side. Ah, and then it’s back to the pummeling, with a pertinent piece called “Life in Camarillo.” (Not only is the coastal town of Camarillo home to the band, but it's also the site of a well-known mental hospital.) A reading of the track-listings indicates the presence of a thinking-person’s metal band, in titles such as “Reason To Live,” “Ignorance and Apathy,” and “The World Today, yet cool counterpoints are encountered examples such as “Necropolis.” And – where speed metal is encountered, velocity is called for, as in “Hot Rod Heaven.” With Cessation of Life, you get a tight band that knows its chops, and a distinctive singer who’s on top of his genre’s form.
White Trash Cowboys ~ self-titled CD
All right, you might be inclined to simply say, “Been there, heard that,” but – these guys are from Texas, givin’ ’em real rebel credibility. It’s not quite accurate to say that White Trash Cowboys are going where Kid Rock has already gone, because they’ve been there all along, on the plains, in the trailer parks, around the honky-tonk dives, raisin’ Cain while hoistin’ Lone Star banners and brews. There's a pretty consistent theme here, beginning with “No Better,” which can be loosely interpreted as an admonition against throwing stones. WTC kicks right into “Dumb White Krackers,” mating an accessible melody with clever rhymes and raps about optimistically pressin’ on through the flak that’s surely headed everyone’s way. Continuing with this theme is “10,000 Dreams,” which contains the balladeer's encouragement to make lemonade out of lemons – not a bad idea, y’all! What you get with these White Trash Cowboys is a hefty dose of hard-rock punchiness, teamed with clever poetic pontifications and layered production throughout. “Split Personality” addresses the dichotomies faced again and again by rockers, artist, poets and posers everywhere ... and WTC deals with the dilemma with this key principle of self-identity: “You will never see me in the way that I ain’t!” These boys know how to rock, they’re witty rhymers, and – their cover art is hilarious!
Loved To Death ~ by: Sonic Bliss
New York City is like a friendly ghost, sang Bob Seger years ago, and Gotham has surely given rise to a host of spirited music. Sonic Bliss seeks the kiss of life with this latest CD, “Loved To Death.” Truly, this band covers a lot of bases well, from the crunchy opening track, “Sahara,” to “Better Day,” an acoustic-based song that has interesting echoes of old Styx, sounding a bit like “Fooling Yourself,” keyboard accents and all. The band also went with a kids’ chorus to close out the song, which actually tends to grow on a person. There are tasty horns and a sax solo on “Babe I'm Dying,” very well arranged. “Nail in my Heart” begins with a bullhorn-sounding voice, which has been kind of a popular effect at least since being popularized by Scott Weiland, and the song rolls on to rock hard and tasty. There’s a bonus track, an interpretation of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition,” confirming just how competent a rock outfit Sonic Bliss is.
Alone on the Sun ~ by: Shouse
There are a lot of ace guitarists out there lately, including a flock who mainly prefer to let their instruments do the talking, in the tradition of someone like Jeff Beck, who was giving fans vocals-free platters back in the Seventies. Over the years, some axe-slingers have made projects of reinterpreting familiar songs with their fingers – how about “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” for instance? Ah, but for many aficionados, one true test of a guitarist's effectiveness is whether he does a good job of coming up with distinctive new tunes that engage and stick with the listener. A Guitar Institute alumnus named Michael Shouse carries on in the tradition of Joe Satriani and Steve Vai and others, by delivering both the shredded lettuce of lickage and the meat-and-potatoes of good beats and melodies, rounding out a satisfying musical meal for the discriminating rocker. One bold move is Shouse's use of a flamenco-style intro to “re-invent” the bluegrass classic, "Man of Constant Sorrows." Shouse went with some stock martial sound-effects to start “Shock and Awe,” which also features a satisfyingly-chunky bass line, and solid drumming from Charlie Zeleny. Michael Shouse is a new-age guitar hero who definitely deserves a listen.
Guitars That Ate My Brain ~ Compilation from Magna Carta
This just-released (Feb. 10) disk is a 12-track smorgasbord from about 15 virtuoso guitarists who have boldly explore the frontiers of electric-guitar possibilities. Each cut is like a lab experiment to find out just how far ten fingers (or more) and six strings (at least) can extend the musical horizons of rock-&-roll. Partnered with crack teams of session musicians in studios packed with stomp pedals and FX boxes, guitarists ranging from Korn’s Shane Gibson to Testament’s James Murphy conspire as men inspired to tickle the ears and grey cells of listeners who can handle hybrid rhythms and adventurous leadwork. Listening to Gibson’s “Artichoke Samurai,” one might wonder just how these artists think this stuff up, because the music goes so far beyond the familiar terrain of four-four time signatures coupled with basic back-beat drumming. A truly outstanding display and array of guitar virtuosity.
