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| From | "Mike and Roxy" <mikenrox@wmis.net> |
| Subject | Sparks first impression and quick reviews |
| Date | Fri, 8 Aug 2003 00:25:43 -0400 |
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It's funny but I guess I had a bad first impression of Sparks as the only LP
I have of them is "Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing". I chalked them up as "not
my cup of tea" and the only other songs I've heard by them are "Angst in my
Pants" and then "I Predict" from a Rhino "New Wave Hits" collection. I
liked "I Predict" but not enough to rush out and retry a full-length
release. Even when I heard Queen comparisons and references to glam - I'm a
fan of both. Now I guess I'll have to try "Kimono My House" to hear what
I've missed.
My 2 cents on the following discs:
Fool's Garden - "Go and Ask Peggy for the Principal Thing"
Jeez, I sure liked this one! Like others, I have a backlog of unheard
CDs and this sat on deck for quite a while. It had a dense production with
horns, accordions and full orchestra on some cuts. The sound reminded me of
"Magical Mystery Tour" Beatles in its "thickness". Tunes alternated from
swelling to bouncy to hard-driving. There was tasty lead guitar work as
well. I've since discovered that Fool's Garden has 2 other releases. Can
anybody comment on the quality of those?
Fountains of Wayne - "Welcome Interstate Managers"
I love it. Of course I loved OK Go and Rooney, too. I don't care if
something is derivative as long as it is catchy and memorable. Their
performance of "Stacy's Mom" on Letterman should propel them to success on
this one. I was singing along with the band and I had only heard the cut
once before.
Grandaddy - "Sumday"
This one was waaaay more laid-back than I expected. Others have heard
shades of ELO in it. I didn't. A disappointment.
4 Out Of 5 Doctors - "S/T" and "Second Opinion"
Way back I requested some vinyl suggestions and these releases were
mentioned. Thanks to those who touted it! This was catchy "skinny tie" new
wave material by a band who turned great riffs into great hooks. The songs
"Danger Man", "Mushroom Boy" and "Never Say Die" were stellar.
Greenberry Woods - Rapple Dapple
I don't know why I took so long to get this one. Perhaps it was due to
mixing them in my mind with "Green Apple Quick Step" - a forgettable bargain
bin purchase of years ago. In any event, this is a masterpiece. In a saner
musical world, "I'll Send A Message" would be an end of the year Number 1 on
Billboards charts. The first 5 cuts, "Trampoline", "#37 (Feels So
Strange)", "Sentimental Role", "I'll Send a Message" and "Oh Christine"
stand up with the opening five cuts on any album I have. Wow! (I guess I
work backwards - I had all the Splitsville stuff before I got this)
Other very good releases:
HotSocky
Bubblegum
Feathergun - "Music to Wash To"
Ola Framby (very quirky stuff - from rockabilly to piano ballroom material)
Relative disappointments:
Leisure McCorkle - "Jet Set Baby"
This was pleasant enough but only the cut "Alcohol" rose to the level to
merit Elvis Costello comparisons.
American Hi Fi - "The Art Of Losing"
This one has the 'sound' I usually love but for some reason I could
never quite get into it. I gave it multiple listens just to see if I was
missing something. Nope.
Travoltas - "Endless Summer"
A relative disappointment based on the love I have for their last one,
"Teenbeat". While "Teenbeat" had great glammy, hand-clappy *songs*, this
one had the *sound* but only 3 memorable songs, "I'm Sorry", "Norwegian
Girl" (a *great* minor key/surf/Secret Agent Man-type tune) and "Anywhere
You Want To" (a rocker that closes the disc).
I final thought. Long ago, there was a discussion on the list about the
length of a CD and that 70 minutes was just too long for any single-band
release. Has anyone else noticed that most CDs these days are limited to
about 10 or 12 cuts and about 35 to 40 minutes? (unless, of course, the
running time is padded by *hidden* cuts with 15 minutes of dead space). I
guess the "less is more" idea took root.
Mike
np: Not Lame sound bites for "Thompson" - it's already in the shopping cart!
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