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Dead River, 19A.D.D.
When we first got this CD, we were intrigued. Nice packaging, with the jewel case inside of a cardboard sleeve. We pulled out the folded up 18 panel insert and discovered a full color poster approximately 14 inches on each side. This part was pretty impressive and really quite cool for a local CD. That alone had to cost them a small fortune. The album cover lists 15 tracks, so we thought this might really be something exciting. Unfortunately, we listened to the disc once through and will never listen to it again. The first track "Siddhapur" was just noise. The kind of noise that makes you wonder if your CD player is broken. The next track was music... Experimental music, but we could hear some guitars and drums and stuff in there, so we'll just call it music for lack of anything better to call it. The rest of the album consits of guitar wanking interspersed with noise, spoken word weirdness and general mayhem. We understand that it was probably a lot of fun for the musicians who created it, and we fully acknowledge that it is one of the most creative albums we have ever heard, but we will never put it back into the player ever again. It's like an entire album of "Revolution # 9" (The Beatles) performed by metalheads. Also, there are no singing vocals on the entire CD, which I suppose makes it instrumental jazz or some other kind of crap that we just don't care for. It's not entertaining, it's not fun and just in case you missed it earlier, we never want to hear it again.
Don't buy this CD, unless you really like weird shit.
For more info please visit: www.19add.com
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Thirteen Ways To Ecstasy - Vibes on Velvet
Thirteen Ways To Ecstasy, a CD of instrumental jazz music from Vibes on Velvet, gets us off every time! The band members, Megan "GoGo" Wise (Buckwild), Susan Phelan (Rexway, Angie Stevens and many other bands) and Tony "Nascar" Aniscar (Railbenders) lace together some very tasty jazz tunes anchored by Wise's vibes. Vibes, which most of us might incorrectly identify as a xylophone, are a unique percussive instrument that provides a distinct flavor to any kind of music. Vibes can be spooky or creepy or sound like chiming bells. To give those unfamiliar with vibes an idea of what they sound like: The common household doorbell is like a seriously impaired, stripped down, two note vibes. Imagine a doorbell with dozens of notes being played adeptly with as many as four beaters at once (or in rapid succession) and you have some clue. If you've ever heard them before (maybe in the background music of a movie or TV show) you will recognize the sound instantly and be marveled.This album has a few covers, like "Fever" the only song with vocals on the album, sung by upright bass player Susan Phelan. The guitar work that hold all this music together, comes from Tony Nascar, best known for his lead guitar work with the country act The Railbenders. This album is both a fun listen and refreshing change of pace. There are no pretentious lyrics or face melting solos, just good clean music that anyone can enjoy. "Silver Hearse" sounds like it could easily be the soundtrack to The Addams Family or The Munsters, but it's not. There are 3 covers on the album: "Fever"(Cooley, Davenport), "Caravan" (Tizol, Elllington) and "Topsy" (Battle Durham), the rest are all original. "Blue Hooves" has a bluesy feel and drums instead of vibes. "Giblets" also lacks the vibes, but this one has a distinct country ambience. We can imagine that each one of these songs might just help bring your gal to ecstasy, under the right circumstances. It's certainly worth a try...
Buy this album for a nice change of pace.
For more info please visit: myspace.com/vibesonvelevet
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Where We're Not , Jill Stevenson & Adam Widoff
Jill Stevenson's new collaboration with Adam Widoff takes us on a beautful and memorable stroll through their relationship. This is Jill's fifth album, We have no idea how many Widoff may have made, but that's not important anyway. They've given us six tracks including one cover: Bob Dylan's "Girl From The North Country." As Jill sings her way through the relationship we get the idea that it produced some terrific music and maybe little else (for the rest of us anyway). Stevenson's vocals are clear, clean and beautiful. With some vocal harmonies thrown in together with creative and interesting musical backing, the result is full and tasty. With equal credits given to Both Stevenosn and Widoff, it hard for the listener to know exactly who contributed what to each song, but since Stvenson sings them all, we're left with the impression that these are her words. The lyrics speak of longing and wonder on some tracks and love and excitment on others. Memorably stuck in our heads, "AmTrack" is the standout as best song on the album.
But these songs if you've ever been in love, even briefly.
For more info please visit: www.JillStevenson.com
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Purple Dub, The Denver Dub Collective
Purple Dub is subtitled "The music of Purple Rain in Ska, Reggae & Dub" and that pretty much explains the whole CD. It's a wonderful re-working of Prince's classic album Purple Rain. Produced by David Dinsmore, from Judge Roughneck. The Denver Dub Collective sounds like they had a great time with this. Collective members include: Wayne Jahkama (Lion SoulJahs) Byron Shaw (Judge Roughneck), Venus Cruz (Future Jazz Project), Black Rhino (Lion SoulJahs) and a variety of the best reggae and ska players in Denver. Dinsmore's falsetto vocals on "The Beautiful Ones" closely resembles the purple one's original. Some of the tracks are slower, like "I Would Die For You" some are souped up to ska speed and others are dub-ified, like "Let's Go Crazy," which comes complete with the spoken word intro. "DJ Nikki" is a delightful reworking of "Darling Nikki" Hilarious and fun, but not exactly dripping with eroticism, like Prince's original. "When Doves Cry" features a cool horn section and staccato ska riddims. "Baby I'm A Star" is almost unrecognizable as a reggae/dub tune. Venus Cruz kills it on "Purple Rain." Missing are the kick-ass guitar solos, replaced by reggae rhythms and blazing horns. Overall, this album lacks the raw energy and power of Prince's Purple Rain, but it's a fun little trip that most fans of the original will likely enjoy.
Buy this CD if you like Purple Rain or creative reggae.
For more info please visit: www.DenverDubCollective.com
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Crime Scene Queen , The Informants (Wipe It Off Records)
Crime Scene Queen from The Informants, has a rich, flavorful 1950s style. Rock-a-billy, jump blues and swing the way they were meant to be done. The CD looks like an old vinyl record and the twelve tracks are divided into "Side A" and "Side B." Thankfully we don;t have to flip the disc over, but this is just one of the least important details that show you where, or really, when the band was aiming. The album was produced, mixed and mastered by Jeremy Lawton, one of the best studio guys in the region. Anchored by Kerry Pastine's sexy vocals, the whole band is so talented it almost hurts. Certainly one of the most talented acts in the region. There are eleven original tracks and one cover, "Please Mr. Jailer," by Wynona Carr, that fits right in the the originals. The title track "Crime Scene Queen" has just the right mix of excitement, in your face rebellion and cool. "Get Twisted" sounds just right for a sock hop. "Salvation" is a kind of gospel blues with a cool backing vocal chorus. "Marilon" has a cajun/New Orleans feel, probably due to the squeeze box. "Don't Talk Betty" rocks a little faster and is perfect for swing dancing. Overall, this album is a delightful blend of retro influences and top quality performances combined into a well produced package that everyone can enjoy.
Buy this CD!
For more info please visit: www.The InformantsBand.com
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Four, Opie Gone Bad
Four starts out with the song "What the World Needs Now is a Good Funk Record." We can't argue with that and this album does the job, even if it's not all pure funk. These nine originals, and one cover tune, are probably the best batch new tunes from the band in many many years. Windall Armour's bad-ass bass grooves are so deep they shook everything on my desk, and that's after I turned the volume down. Jake Schroeder's vocals are terrific and have always been one of the best parts of this band. Notably, new drummer (since their last CD, anyway) Tarrel Martin keeps perfect time. He had some mighty big shoes to fill and has done a fine job of it, even injecting some new and exciting energy into a band that was in danger of becoming stale. Randy Chavez not only plays killer guitar, he is also credited with producing, engineering, mixing and mastering this album. That's a lot of work for one guy to do well, but he did and excellent job. The whole CD sounds top-notch from start to end. "Black Dog" from Led Zeppelin is the only cover and it's just cool and funky enough to fit right in with the rest of the album. Also worth noting are the backing vocals from Channel 9's Kirk Montgomery on three tracks, though it's hard to distinguish him from the others on those tracks. Armour handles lead vox on "Let's Go" is a cool tune that's not in the usual OGB funk style, more of a hip-hop number, actually. Eric Gunnison adds some nice piano work on "My Love." "Cougar" is a hilarious tounge-in-cheek ditty that's funky and fun while making fun of cougars. Here's a taste: "Big fake boobs old faded tattoos, huge lips, retractable claws..." you get the drift. "People" uses some interesting electronic voice effects. The last track "Gold Digger" features squeeze box highlights from John Magnie (of the subdudes). This one is purportedly inspired by a specific person, but nobody's talking and there aren't enough clues in the lyrics for us to figure it out. We'll leave that up to you.
Buy this album if you like to dance or just want to hear something new from a band you've loved for years.
For more info please visit: www.OpieGoneBad.com
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