No shortage of music of to be reviewed but I do my best in trying to keep up.
While critics go gaga over The New Pornographers-Together and The Hold Steady-Heaven Is Whenever I tend to think that these bands don't rock as hard as I would like them to. The New Pornos have always made winning albums including 2007's Challengers, Together is one album that might just be their least interesting which is saying a lot. Loved Twin Cinema, liked Electric Version and still think that band is the best use for Neko Case but Together tends to wonder around the melodies too much and not enough uptempo numbers to really recommend it but if your a fan, you will not be disappointed. Same thing with Hold Steady although it's a step up from Stay Positive. Still I don't think they can hold a melody long enough to make it a hook laden like Bruce Springsteen, but they have been doing Springsteen better than the boss himself of late.
I remain old school rock and roll, three chords and the truth and if your influences go back to the mid 60s era Kinks and The Who, then Len Price 3 Photographs is a better listen although they seem to be finding their own sound and relying less on the Who like backing chorus on previous albums. Love the kick ass title track and the Stooge riffing of I Don't Believe You. Side 2 doesn't hold my attention span very well and it is the least of the Len price 3 albums so far but it's loads better than what is passed off for modern rock nowadays.
Asia is back with a new album Omega (Frontiers Records) and it's better than the 2008 Phoenix album. For old prog pop rockers, they actually have some decent melodies on Finger On The Trigger and Light The Way and this might be their best album since the debut, if anybody cares about this type of music anymore. John Wetton and Geoff Downes will not wow you with their lyrics, to which deals with being a soul survivor (rewritten here), or rewriting The Smile Has Left Your Eyes or songs about Holy War but I like Omega a lot. They haven't rocked this hard with conviction since the first album and if they keep on rocking like this somebody is going to have a heart attack. Asia is beginning to remind me of Crosby Stills and Nash to which back in the 70s they couldn't get along together but now old age has mellowed them to make music and tour together. As for the odd man out John Payne who has his own Asia band, he's doing well although I never cared much for his singing on the album that he sat in, Aqua. I'm sure today's people don't give a shit for the reformed Asia but I do. Omega still proves that when they're in the right frame of mind to put up with each other, they can still make interesting music.
Grades:
New Pornographers-Together (Matador) B
Hold Steady-Heaven Is Whenever (Vagrant) B+
Len Price 3-Pictures (Wicked Cool) B+
Asia-Omega (Frontiers) B+
2 comments:
Crabby! Yr latest Top 10 is great! Imagine my shock cos I thot U were all done with this stuff! U quote from "Absolutely Right" & U list "Norman," 1 of the cheeziest 1-hit wonders of all time! + a couple zings at ELP & Tull prog (love it!) & that great line about meeting the GF's relatives: "They've been hearing great things about me and it's time to set the record straight." Ghod, great stuff. Don't ever stop. Keep laffin, man! -- TAD.
when i compiled the top ten last night i didn't enable the comments section. Always have to remind myself to do that first but I forget.
Glad you like my TTOTW selections although I was in a prog and cheese mood. ELP is always an acquired taste and though I like their albums Keith Emerson's keyboard orgies tend to make me go WTF. The Baker Gurwitz album a waste of time likewise The Dead Weather and I dare anybody else to stick Norman on their top tens along with ELP and The Tull.
I do enjoy Crest Of A Knave 20 years later and found a 2005 remaster with a bonus track for five bucks at FYE. Still recommended but Under Wraps was a waste of time I traded my copy in for two dollars. Rock Island was spotty but Catfish Rising might have been the last truly great Tull album. Roots and Branches, while it didn't suck, just didn't keep my attention very long and I fell asleep listening to most of that cd.
Come to think of it TAD, perhaps I should have used Absolutely Right as the lead off song but it fit perfectly at the time. As for the Michigan trip it should be an interesting adventure. I'm sure Nicole has everything all planned out and ready to go.
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