Gary
Glauber
Reviews:
July,
2005
Scroll down for the latest from
David Mead, Fountains of Wayne, Fran Smith, Jr., The Cyclones,
The Afternoons and The Heavenly States
David Mead
Wherever You
Are
(Eleven
Thirty)
Release Date: June 28, 2005
http://www.davidmead.com/
In late 2002, David Mead and bandmates Whynot
Jansveld and Ethan Eubanks headed up to Woodstock NY to record
with producer Stephen Hague (New Order, Blur, Pet Shop Boys)
what was supposed to Mead's third release with RCA Records.
The musicians later relocated to Bath England, where Tchad
Blake (Neil Finn, Los Lobos, Sheryl Crow) mixed most of the
tracks. As final mixes were being printed, everyone was
ecstatic about the new album and its songs, most of which
captured the end of David Mead's love affair with New York
City (he had moved back to Nashville).
But the music industry is fraught with
bizarre twists. Two weeks later, RCA announced a merger with
another label that included massive downsizing. David Mead was
one of the artists dropped from the label, and *Wherever You
Are* remained unreleased, collecting dust, while a morass of
legal settlements ensued.
In reaction, Mead spent a few months writing
a bunch of quiet, introspective songs. He soon signed on with
another label and released many of those new songs as
Indiana in May 2004. Wherever You Are faded into
the background, a what-could-have been transformed into a
somewhat distant lost opportunity.
Now, in the summer of 2005, David Mead has
unearthed six of the songs from that long unreleased album. He
likens it to the experience of discovering rolls of
undeveloped film, and having them developed: the surreal
sensation of seeing details of another time in one's life from
a later perspective. He still loves these songs, and now
listeners can too.
The opening title track reflects a somewhat
stoic attitude of struggling against fate and accidents, set
within a beautiful melody and delicate arrangement. Mead's
gorgeous voice is the assured and emotive focal point to his
music, and always a pleasure to behold. Here it's no
exception, in a rhetorical questioning middle bridge: "Did you
wait 'til the sun was out of season / better fade into shadows
or you might get burned / when you're high, hear my words and
you'll believe them / consolation for a lesson you might have
learned."
"Hold On" is a sweetly optimistic song of
encouragement and determination. Mead urges a lovelorn friend
to wait out the bad times, promising consolation and hope: "If
I could console you with a little hero's song where everyone
adores you, would you try to sing along? / Hold on to
yourself, until you find somebody else / Hang on, love is
real, and though it's left you all alone, I know its light
will lead you home."
"Only A Dream" is a little more jazzy and
moody, employing some minor chords to echo the lyrical
explorations of the difficult aspects of living in NYC: "
Sundays are the best, blanketed in silence, perfect in the
place where you are./ Comfortable I guess, but no man is an
island, breaking waves and shooting at stars / Paperback is
done, so move out to the corner, dive into the sea of the
crowd, / They say it's all been done, and life is made to
order, counting cracks and thinking out loud / But if you
awake with a shake and a shiver, from down in the depths
you've seen / Just leave it behind, close your eyes and
remember it's only a dream." Mead serves up hope even in hard
times, and does so with a light lyrical touch.
Perhaps the most beautiful song here is
"Astronaut," Mead's reluctant farewell and love song to New
York. Mead claims to love New York in the way a man might love
a particularly volatile woman with whom he realizes he can't
stay. This song's lyrics marvelously capture this bittersweet
departure from a place that wasn't as permanent as he'd once
hoped it would be: "So baby open your canyons up and sweep me
right along /
Wont you give me your cold embrace, I'll give
you one more song / Then you tell me a lie and say you'll miss
me when I'm gone / 'Cause I'm leaving the ground tonight, I'm
over your ceiling / 'Cause down in your sinking lives, life is
but a dream and
though you may pretend, this is how it
ends, gone again."
"Make It Right" follows that departure, a
musical entreaty for redemption: "This is just the final
curtain call, after such a long elaborate fall / I was only
fighting for my life, but now I want a chance to make it
right." Mead is picking up the pieces, reflecting on what's
been left behind - with that winning music and voice, how
could he be refused a second chance?
This mini-CD ends with Mead's sweet melodic
love letter to the big apple, "How Much," wherein he recounts
some of the many things he'll miss about the city: " Suicidal
morning of pink and purple glow / The city's up and yawning, a
blanket made of snow /
Sentimental movie from many years
ago / You don't know how much I'm gonna miss you." The song
ends abruptly, almost as if only half done.
While only 22 plus minutes of music,
Wherever You Are offers up six quiet, mature songs that
express genuine warmth and emotional intelligence amidst what
was a major life change. Mead's voice remains a rare gift, and
these quality bittersweet love songs to a city he reluctantly
leaves are a welcome surprise, musical snapshots from years
ago that I, for one, am glad to encounter even so long after
the fact.
________________________________________________________________
Fountains of Wayne
Out Of
State Plates
(Virgin)
Release Date: June 28,
2005
http://www.fountainsofwayne.com/
While a 2-CD compilation of rarities and
B-sides from Fountains of Wayne is certain to please devoted
fans and ardent completists, what makes Out Of State
Plates so enjoyable for everyone else is the relatively
high level of quality sustained throughout this varied
collection.
With each new album FOW has advanced some,
taking their brand of wry humor, astute observation and
infectious pop to higher levels. Yet while their most recent
studio release,Welcome Interstate Managers, married the
sublime and the ridiculous exquisitely, there are great tracks
that merit revisiting on each of their first two CDs as well.
The basic fact is Fountains of Wayne have never put out a bad
studio CD.
Therefore, it stands to reason that even
their "throwaway" tracks and covers will be better than most.
While some of these songs are noticeably less polished efforts
than much of their studio brethren, it's fair to say most of
them actually are rather good, and reflect that same unique
perspective we've come to expect from songwriters Chris
Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger.
The two discs open in similar fashion, with
short audio clips from radio shows (one from NPR and the other
from WFUV), followed by great new songs. These new tunes,
arguably the best ones here, are further testament to the
band's getting better and better.
The single "Maureen" is uber-catchy, telling
the sad tale of a friend who would rather be a lover caught up
with a woman who offers too much graphic information about her
dreams and love life. "The Girl I Can't Forget" is another
infectious winner, laced with upbeat horns (featuring Ronnie
Buttacavoli on trumpet), a wordy tale about a drunken night he
can't remember with this girl he can't forget (the one who
posted his bail, as it were). Luckily, our hero gets a second
chance and the rest is proverbial history, captured in winsome
radio-ready pop. Both new tunes are classic FOW fare, and if
this is the latest, it also speaks well of their next studio
album.
Disc One continues with the nonsensical
"California Sex Lawyer,"a song formerly only available on an
older IPO compilation. It's about an over proud man who has it
all, including "a license to love and a German shepherd named
Dove." His lyrical boasting exhorts that it's not fair, but he
doesn't care.
"Janice's Party" is an endearing
organ-accented winner (a bonus track from 1997's single of
"Radiation Vibe"). It's the obvious tale of said annual party,
where "smoking is permitted inside." In typical FOW fashion,
lyrics involve drunken observations.
Another track from that same time, "Karpet
King" was one of the live staples from early tours when there
was a dearth of ready material at hand. It's the musical story
of a man who "looks like he's wearing a cheap disguise but
it's real." As usual, FOW captures the sincerity of the moment
for this working Joe who still has dreams, yet is stuck
"laying it down,"
A more recent track, "Baby I've Changed" has
a nice bouncing bass line (and the guitar solos have improved
progressively over the years). It's about a contrite man who,
having once stepped over the line, now claims to have changed
his wicked ways. Promises like this are laid bare: "I'll let
you listen to Sugar Ray and I'll say I love you every day
because it's true."
One of my favorites here dates from the
Utopia Parkway era, a pleasant harmony-laced love song
entitled "I Know You Well." The lyrics reflect the couple's
simpatico in a way that only FOW can manage: "and as you and
me grow old I hope we'll live to tell /how you know I know you
knew I know you well."
"You're Just Never Satisfied" is an old demo
from 1999, a serviceable mid-tempo rocker that the boys were
too lazy to record properly. There's a true home demo feel to
"I Want You Around," a pleasant encouragement of a love song
that Chris admits never got finished.
"I'll Do The Driving" is a song of quiet
apprehension, dissecting a tenuous relationship with critical
barbs hurled at a television-obsessed woman who annoys him,
knowing nothing at all about nothing (e.g., she thinks Johnny
Cash is the man in red). Collingwood and Schlessinger do
dissension well.
A short gem of a song is the sweetly charming
"Places," written by Collingwood for his wife while tour-weary
and longing for home while staying in London.
"Nightlight" (1999) is a good example of how
anything and everything serves as possible fodder for musical
treatment with FOW. Here, the simple lyrics get couched in
exotic world sounds, including sitars and tablas.
The first of several covers here is "Trains
and Boats and Planes," the Bacharach/David classic once made
popular by Dionne Warwick. FOW give it more of a folky feel,
allowing for a different appreciation of the song. The first
disc also includes a spirited live performance of Electric
Light Orchestra's "Can't Get It Out Of My Head" (recorded at
the Jacksonville Coliseum in 1997).
Disc Two includes FOW's most popular
unreleased track, their take on the oft-covered Max Martin
uber-hit "…Baby One More Time." It's a very different version
than that of Britney's, more stark and rawly emotional,
selling the loneliness expressed in the lyrics far better, I
think. Though it's not their most polished recording, the
strength and beauty of this pop song becomes readily apparent.
"Elevator Up" is a raw kind of song about
drugs, that features some nice buzzing guitar, fine horn
arrangements and the type of polish that distinguishes it as a
more recent track (a bonus from the single "Stacy's
Mom").
While disc one examined a man in the carpet
trade, disc two offers a musical portrait of a female stand-up
who knows there are times when things don't go all that
smoothly, and that it's a thin line between "killing" and
"dying." While "Comedienne" delivers typically astute insight
into this plight, the song itself sounds a little rough around
the edges. In other words, it's good but not good enough to
have made the studio release. .
Contrast that with "Kid Gloves," an older
tune released as a bonus track that same year. This beautiful
song should most definitely have made an official studio
release, but probably got shelved merely because it pre-dated
songs written for that first album.
FOW show their country flavors in an unlikely
cover of the Gene Pitney/Aaron Schroeder chestnut "Today's
Teardrops," made famous by Ricky Nelson. It's not a bad cover,
and serves as testament to the band's impressive genre
diversity.
Additional covers included here include Chris
Collingwood serving up a bare-bones home-studio acoustic
performance of Jackson Browne's "These Days" and a
more-realized studio version of Roddy Frame's Aztec Camera
classic "Killermont Street." Both of these are great songs
(and kudos to Collingwood for bringing them to the attention
of younger folks who might not be familiar with the
originals).
The second live performance track is a
live version of "She's Got A Problem," the compelling tale of
concern for a woman on the verge of suicide. This was recorded
at the U.K.'s Reading Festival in August 1997.
Disc two offers a trilogy of winter holiday
songs. Originally recorded as a demo for Hanson (who didn't
use it), the nonsensical "I Want An Alien For Christmas"
provides much upbeat holiday cheer in its alternative gift
suggestions. "The Man In The Santa Suit" offers a poignant FOW
portrait of an impatient man playing jolly Saint Nick for the
needed money: "it's hard to be merry when the guys at the bar
say he looks like a fairy, but he's doing it just for the
loot, the man in the santa suit." "Chanukah Under The Stars"
is a few seconds' worth of lounge-lizard equal time.
"Half A Woman" is a bit rough, a sort of
throwaway song recorded at the studio between takes of another
song. Yet the magic here is in the lyrics, telling the story
of a magician's assistant who yearns for more and eventually
makes her escape.
"Small Favors" is another early tune (circa
1994), in which the narrator isn't quite ready to let of a
relationship that has ended. "Imperia" is a short but noble
tribute of a song written about Collingwood's grandfather, a
former RAF pilot in World War II. It shows well how Fountains
of Wayne can capture so much in fewer than two minutes worth
of song.
While not as solid as any of FOW's previous
studio releases, *Out of State Plates* still has much to
recommend it (most notably the two new songs). Schlesinger and
Collingwood are great at what they do, and this ample
collection serves well as a sort of historical perspective on
the career-to-date, placing lesser known and rougher hewn
tracks (some of which are very winning) alongside live
performances and a diversity of covers.
The bonus is the more you play these songs,
the more you'll like them - they don't lack for character and
talent, and even Collingwood and Schlesinger's most modest
demo efforts prove better than much of what others can manage
in their most polished productions. Fountains of Wayne write
wonderful hook-filled melodies and people them with compelling
portraits and wry, intelligent lyrics. As such, they take both
pride and time in honing their unique craft. Considering that
we've only had three albums since 1996's debut, *Out Of State
Plates" is a veritable bounty of enjoyable material to keep us
sated until the next proper studio release.
________________________________________________________________
The Heavenly States
Black
Comet
(Baria
Records)
Release Date: July 12, 2005
http://www.theheavenlystates.com/
It's not very often that melodic pop
intertwines with political anger and intelligent diatribe.
That's why The Heavenly States and their unique brand of
danceable rage seem so darn refreshing, being a truly
independent alternative in a music world oft populated by
soundalikes with placid demeanors. I'd wager the musical angst
that comprises Black Comet might prove too extreme for
some faint-hearted listeners. Others, like myself, will find
much to admire in its genuine anger set against pleasing
melodies. Forgive the pun, but The Black Comet is
indeed all the rage.
Singer/songwriter/guitarist Ted Nesseth has
changed gears a bit for this new release. Gone are the grand
sonic landscapes that peppered parts of the band's self-titled
debut. In their stead are a bunch of songs in which Nesseth
spouts an abundance of lyrics, often shouting instead of
singing, sounding like he's racing against time and danger to
get the thoughts expressed.
There's genuine passion behind
it - and the resulting songs are entertaining and
eclectic.
The CD opens with "Look And Listen," a wild
sensory trip that urges freaking out and seeking out,
discussing stretched time down at the river of blood. There's
even a middle bridge that bears some resemblance to The
Beatles' "I've Got A Feeling": "Everybody wants a red light /
Everybody sees the next time / Everybody hears the same thing
/ Everybody buys a new life." Genevieve Gagon's synthesizers
and violin work and brother Jeremy's drumming make the music
both hard-driving and melodically dramatic.
"Pretty Life" comes across with a feeling of
tense desperation, quiet music pierced by Nesseth's urgent
vocals, creating a compelling contrast. It begins "this is the
best, the best of the blessed, it didn't test the camera" and
continues on to a chorus with retro-organ notes that declares
"it's a pretty life, 'til you're smashing the rock into roll."
Nesseth spews cryptic lines that question lovers and beauty,
measuring life pleasure to pleasure and ultimately smashing
that rock quite effectively. It's a sound that's hard to
describe.
The title track leads off with some fine
drumming and violin, presenting a strange sort of jazz-punk
hoedown. Nesseth drives another song with frantic vocals that
convey pointed political commentary of an imperialistic
regime: "Pistol whipped to the beat of a drum / haul you off
to prison when the communists come / No case investigation by
the chosen one / the people reunited under government gun."
Genevieve's violin accents are a
highlight of "Borderline," while Nesseth's guitar punctuates
the rhythm in another observational song about time and life.
Here The Heavenly States create a fascinating lush musical
atmosphere that overshadows the words.
"Song In F" is a more somber affair, a sort
of pleasantly meandering tune with piano chords accenting
lyrics that are sort of prose poems that defy easy
interpretation: "Waving to the neighbors, that's enough /
saving all the papers, you care too much for them / Could you
ever love them if their eyes were full of empty / tortured and
replaceable delighted and sure of nothing." While it might not
all make sense, it sounds important and is couched in sweet
backing music.
My favorite song here is "Elastic Days,"
wherein the musical violin riff (a cousin of Prince's
"Raspberry Beret") is mighty infectious. The tune itself wins
you over immediately, and then Nesseth serves up a sharp
contrast with his ranting-almost sung lyrics - what seems like
enough words for five songs - yet somehow he manages to get
them all in. The music is beautiful (particularly the divine
strings of the middle bridge), the lyrics somewhat elusive:
"Wow! I heard your body moan / You don't want to be alone /
But your mind is like a plant of stone that never seems to
grow / Destroy the things you know / Just snap and let it go /
Elastic days of this life."
Nesseth is left-handed, and plays his guitar
upside-down. As a result, he gets a sound that's different,
almost percussive at times. This is well displayed within the
complex stutter rhythms of "Racetrack." The trio is a tight
musical entity, and their playing fuses into a powerful
crescendo here.
Another moody, pensive musical piece is
"Light Dressed Storm," which builds slowly into a sort of
surrealist love song, observing a couple dancing in a storm.
"Pale" on the other hand, offers a chorus of cursing blatant
defiance against "giving you anymore" in what sounds to be a
troubled relationship.
"Vacant" is another eclectic and powerful
accomplishment of a song, a mixture of several upbeat and
urgent rhythms wedded to grand observations about the anywhere
that's a vacant everywhere: "their life, their love, their
push to shove / life love push shove."
"A Revolution Away" is mostly a pleasing
musical refrain that whiles away two minutes or so. Perhaps
the most thoughtful song here, "The Witness," closes the CD.
It's a song that espouses compromise as a way of life for this
new generation of existential miscreants, and Nesseth puts it
succinctly thus: "It's best to not expect the best / That's
the best you can do."
The Heavenly States are a talented trio that
somehow mix rock, pop and dissent into infectious songs of
eclectic social and political commentary. Their unique indie
sound deserves a far wider audience, but anything that's
somewhat different is bound to catch on slowly at best. For
Black Comet, they have increased the anger quotient
while maintaining the tuneful surprises, putting out another
collection that screams to be heard - only in this case, more
literally.
_______________________________________________________________
Fran Smith Jr. and
The Ten Cent Millionaires
Man Meets
Machine
(Self-Produced)
Release Date:
April 5, 2005
http://www.fransmithjr.com/
Talented musician and actor Fran Smith Jr.
understands well how those in supporting roles often get
overlooked. As bass player and supporting vocalist for
Philadelphia's The Hooters since 1987, Smith has been touring
all over the world, playing that band's Billboard Top 40 hits.
Yet while all of those hits were written by Eric Bazilian, Rob
Hyman and/or Rick Chertoff, Fran Smith Jr. is quite an adept
songwriter as well.
His new solo CD Man Meets Machine
showcases that ability, throwing the dutiful supporting player
into the pop spotlight. He meets that challenge well - with
ample aural proof that Fran Smith Jr. knows how to write the
kind of melodic pop that used to dominate popular radio years
ago. With over twenty-five years in and around the music
industry, Smith obviously knows his stuff.
Assembling a supporting cast of musician
friends (among them Glenn Burtnick, Steve Butler, Pinky
Giglio, Joey Maressa Jr and fellow Hooters Bazilian and
Hyman), Smith captures elements of past sounds and transforms
them into sweetly melodic new creations infused with
infectious charm. The polished sounds reflect the innocence of
a bygone day, replete with hooks galore.
The title track leads off the proceedings in
a pleasant way, with 1980s-style synth accents, abundant
cowbell, and plenty of guitar and harmonies fusing into a song
about contemplating a future where "daytime, nighttime, man
meets machine, finding new ways to love / they're doing their
best with metal and flesh, 'til man meets machine."
Don McLean had his musical homage to Van Gogh
way back when, so considering the popularity of The DaVinci
Code, you'd think someone might seek to fill that musical gap.
Relax - Fran Smith Jr. not only has a song called "Leonardo,"
but you'd be hard pressed to find another song so catchy. This
McCartney-esque tribute to the great master ("his eyes see the
light of a world that's in flight") features lovely guitar and
bass lines, and the kind of sweet vocals and harmonies that
will stick in your head the whole summer long.
There's one song here that could be a hit for
The Hooters. Not surprisingly, it's the one Smith has
co-written with Rob Hyman and Eric Bazilian (who join in
playing it). "That's The Way I Will Remember" has got the
knack of sounding familiar even on first listen, a close
cousin to the string of hit songs the band had years ago. It's
a song of fond reminisce about a woman gone but not forgotten:
"You know there's always something there to remind me / And I
will carry you everywhere deep inside me / You found a chink
in my armor / You dug a hole in my heart / You're such a
beautiful charmer / you left a permanent mark."
"ShutDownLand" espouses a carefree lifestyle,
running from commitment and criticism into a world of endless
parties and good times. "Rudy" is chock full of ringing
guitars and rich wall-to-wall sound, think arena rock anthem
in the lyrical service of getting someone to unlock the door.
The upbeat "Uniforms" relates the tale of a woman obsessed
with a passion for men in uniform.
At times, Smith has joined the cast members
of Beatlemania as Paul McCartney. Thus, his very brief piano
ballad "Redberry Shangrala" comes as no surprise. This song,
while just over a minute's worth of music, is pure tuneful
McCartney (or an incredible simulation thereof).
"Waiting In The Rain" paints a dramatic
scenario, our hero finds himself touring through a foreign
country searching and waiting for a relative stranger who has
become the object of his love. Again, this is a very full
arrangement, the drama of the music more than matching that of
the lyrics.
"Love and Exploration" again seems like a
lost hit single from the early 1980s. Steve Butler displays
slick guitar virtuosity throughout this song that exhorts the
combination of love and exploration, from Christopher Columbus
to Robinson Crusoe and beyond.
"Nothing In Return" tunefully laments that
speaking your mind often yields poor results; "Committed" is
an excellent variant on a standard blues number with early
Beatle influences, all about the difficulties of domestic
commitment.. "Hide A Place" is a mid-tempo ballad that sounds
very mid-1980s (it was co-written with drummer Joey Maressa).
While Smith's lyrics are adequate for his
melodic pop means, they don't seem overly ambitious. The one
exception is the very humorous, pseudo-British "The
Aggravation Song," in which a father tries to explain to his
son how marriage simply amounts to aggravation. Smith has fun
with nonsensical proclamations like this: "The highest form of
ganglious, a modicum of jubilous, sanctity and brevity of
puritanical bliss / It's not the action but the prowess / a
chronological entity / a vat of forty ouncers and the purpose
of derange."
"Dots" is another pleasant Beatle-esque cut
of highly melodic, guitar-driven pop, which Smith seems to
reel off with relative ease. The CD closes with a minute's
worth of demented supermarket announcements, further proof
that Smith has a sense of humor.
Much in the style of The Vinyl Kings and
other projects of veteran musicians, *Man Meets Machine*
reminds us that well-written melodic pop still exists. The
rich arrangements, harmonies and guitar lines combine for a
most enjoyable listening experience. Fran Smith Jr. proves
that he deserves the spotlight by creating song after song of
catchy guitar-driven music that comes and goes in three
minutes, but stays in your head for months. If you're a fan of
melodic pop, *Man Meets Machine* needs to be your fun musical
soundtrack for the summer of 2005.
________________________________________________________________
The Afternoons
Rocket
Summer
(Saturday
Records)
Release Date: June 6, 2005
www.theafternoons.com
There's always a need for mellow pop,
particularly in the summer. It provides a musical place of
comfort in which one can get lost and float away on inner
thoughts and distant dreams. Those seeking such a place should
give a long listen to Rocket Summer, the delightful new
collection from The Afternoons.
This moog-splashed twee pop provides a
confectioner's dose of dreamy sweetness, courtesy of Richard
Griffiths (vocals, guitar), Pete Morgan (drums, percussion),
Sarah Rapi (bass, vocals), Paul Rapi (keys, vocals), Andrew
Walters (violin, viola), and Jason Huxely (lead guitar).
The band was formed in 1999 when five friends
from Cardiff, Wales were united by a common love of David
Bowie and curry. The Bowie influence isn't very noticeable on
this current release. Rather, the dreamy hook-filled pop
suggests links to bands like Belle and Sebastian, The
Lucksmiths, The Shins, Teenage Fanclub, The Trashcan Sinatras,
The Housemartins and others.
The pleasant opening title track lulls you
into a sort of happy mid-tempo stupor while en route to Mars,
a lyrical fantasy wherein you don't get old and your skin
looks good in the sun (sign me up for that voyage).
Happy synth-notes introduce "Baby, You Know
The Deal," but the lyrics are darker than the music would
indicate, addressing times when one feels down. "Let's Fall
Apart" is a congenial ballad about trying to begin again in a
relationship where things haven't been going all that well:
"Love left you numb / made you stare at the rain / Let's fall
apart, take it back to the start again." Paul Rapi's accent
notes on the synthesizer are just right here.
While it might be too slow a song for some
people, the stark acoustic beauty of "Fading Fast" works well
for me. This bittersweet examination of the transcendence of
existence, night to day, season to season, is marvelously
accented with Andrew Walters' strings.
"Coast Road" is a summer song about driving
toward a future and never looking back (with extra points for
name-checking The Velvets).
Infectious moog accents and joyous handclaps
make "You'll Never Know" a likely candidate for a single. The
upbeat happiness of the melody works well against the
confessional lyrics: "I didn't throw your clothes across the
lawn / I didn't stay up drunk 'til dawn / I didn't grow a
beard to my feet / I didn't lose the will to eat / But you'll
never know that it didn't hurt so bad / You'll never know that
I got over you." Richard Griffiths has a real gift for writing
catchy songs that strike genuine emotional notes.
"Never Tell Anybody Anything" is surprisingly
up-tempo, recalling all sorts of new wave music from years
past (Aha, anyone?) while expressing concern about a young
person's family problems.
"Looking For A Reason" is a less successful
ballad, coming off as a little whiney, a lovelorn guy
constantly reminded of his love, looking for a reason to live
without her (sometimes pop hyperbole backfires).
"Tides" continues the successions of slow
ballads. It's more lovelorn reminisce, but done a bit more
cleverly with lyrics like this: "The photograph I never took
is kept next to my heart / The one you'll never get to see /
It shows you walking on the sand / Laughing in the twilight /
but it was never meant to be." Here the sensitive musings come
across as genuine.
"You Are" is the only piano ballad, a happy
and dramatic love song (at last). It's always nice to know
that some love scenarios do work out: "You are the compass
that tells me where I'm going / When there is no way of
knowing / You are the girl who stopped me from shaking / when
my heart was tired of breaking / And you let me live my life."
Richard Griffiths' vocals are superb here (in an almost "Long
And Winding Road" mode), couched in a lush wall of great
production.
One of the things I like about this CD is how
the songs are arranged chronologically. The record starts at
the beginning of summer and progresses into the fall. One of
my favorites here is "In Flames," a relatively unadorned yet
poignant song for the end of summer. Pete Morgan does a nice
job with the drumming, as Mr. Griffiths relates the changes
that are ensuing: "Now it's over / taste it in her kiss /
Bittersweet where there once was only bliss / Once her eyes
were full of things that shone / But tomorrow they will all be
gone."
The CD closes with another beautiful and
slightly sad song, "Canada Geese." It's September now - the
summer and its memories are fading fast -- and the geese in
flight mark an end to things (and also the end of the album):
"Tall September shadows fall and it grows dark / You chase the
scattered leaves that skate across the park / The trail of
geese has disappeared into the blue / Now every time I see
them I will think of you."
These twelve songs of sweet mellow pop are a
lovely and dreamy travelogue to take you through a magical
Rocket Summer. The Afternoons are a very easy listen
due to the mellifluous vocals of Griffiths and Sarah Rapi.
Griffiths (alone and with Peter Morgan) writes savvy and
often-beautiful songs that are introspective, reflective and
sensitive, yet manage to avoid overwrought clichés. Fans of
this sort of dreamy twee music should get a copy of Rocket
Summer quickly, allowing plenty of time yet to enjoy the
seasonal music on the beach or as backdrop to a long romantic
coastal drive.
________________________________________________________________
Cyclones
Walk Fast…Head
Down
(Jam
Records)
Release Date: January 1, 2005
http://www.cyclonesband.com/
These days power pop often comes with a
shortage of power - thankfully, that's not the case here. This
24-minute mini-CD contains eight songs that rock in a very
direct fashion, heralding an auspicious debut for a new
guitar-driven band out of Illinois.
Singer/songwriter/guitarist Steve Gatland is
the creative force behind Cyclones. He is joined by various
musicians on several tracks (B. Fritzsche, T. Wiznewski, J.
Fellers, B. Veazey, S. Gorsuch and A. Kempa), executing songs
that feature crunchy guitars, straight-ahead vocals, solid
drums and genial harmonies with an admirable precision.
While this hard-driving guitar-laden rock
doesn't re-invent the wheel, it does a nice job of being both
energetic and memorable, exuding confident sounds from the
first note.
The opener "On My Mind" is a confession of
thoughts beyond a relationship's end (he set her free,
apparently), surrounded by guitars and harmonies. Gatland
shows his sense of humor with tuneful "What They Say About
You," wherein a guy has to deal with the fact that his new
lover has had 42 others before him ("now I understand all the
looks I get when I walk downtown with you"). The song opens
with a wall of guitars and opens up from there.
"2nd Best" is a lament of waiting for a
wanted lover's decision from a guy who seems always to be
second best. It's another infectious rocker that effectively
conveys post-adolescent angst in matters of the
heart.
Similarly, "Heart of Stone" touches upon a
man undone by the loss of a heartless woman who is leaving:
"Did you leave me heart of stone / did you leave me all alone
/ I will never let myself fall this far again."
"Teacher" is a musical admission that the
class needs this particular instructor, who unfortunately is
crying, turning and walking away, having failed to get the
kids' test marks up to acceptable state standards (and will
face dismissal as a result). It's not exactly a direct censure
of the flawed federal "No Child Left Behind" policy, but
probably as close as a rock song might get.
"Listen Hard To Hear" is a musical admission
of apathy, a direct result of a distinct failure to
communicate. This line sums it up nicely: "Stand by myself
while you think of yourself."
People laboring in jobs or relationships that
they despise will find much to like in the song "13 Days."
Here, the singer wants to steal away, find a place to hide and
start over: "I don't want to live this way / Living like hell
is getting pretty old / What would they do, what would they
say / If I just walked out today / Bide my time, watch them
all adhere / I'll be gone, it's almost time to go / 13 days
'til someday."
The CD closes with "Believer Deceiver," a
pleasant jangle-pop song sung from the perspective of an
insincere pretender who only cares about getting to the top in
any way possible.
Walk Fast…Head Down is a polished,
passionate and powerful debut from these rocking power
poppers, a brief sampler that leaves the listener wanting
more.
_______________________________________________________________
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