Bradley's Buzz

Random CDs

Back to the Random CDs of the week - it's been a fairly rocking little week in my stereos - from a rock icon, a bespectacled icon, a new groovy pop band and a few other things to fluff you up, I give you the random CDs of the week:

UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF GIANTS - Under the Influence of Giants (2006; Island/Def Jam)
Another round for the internet savvy of myspace.com as that is what initially launched this band into a big record contract; coming off the initial single "Mama's Room" a sort of Bee Gees meets Scissor Sisters meets the muffled guitar of Wheatus, the song like most of the album is completely infectious. My pal Tommy introduced me to the band as I was raving about those boys and girls of Scissor Sisters, and I liked every single song that I heard - something not usually found by me on any album released after 1984; but here I was entranced by the awesome vocals, the continuing converging of different musical styles and most importantly, the ever so catchy vocals - "In The Clouds" and "Ah Ha" are big time fun songs full of familiar yet new sounds. I've read reviews that have said the band is like summer, you know something that's fun and carefree but will not last; I'm not sure I agree, I think if they continue making catchy albums like this debut they may be around for quite awhile.

ELVIS COSTELLO - This Year's Model (1978; Stiff/Columbia)
In my quest to redisover the bespectaled one, I found a used copy of reissue 1 of Elvis' second album - if you know anything about the latest record biz reissue craze, it's that they keep remastering and reissuing some classic albums over and over again in slightly different forms; for Elvis he is on his third round of reissues, but I'm just buying used for now. This Year's Model found our boy a tad more angry than on his debut and with the help of newly recruited the Attractions, he found some keyboards and jumpy punk rock. Arguably, the roughest and loudest of Elvis' albums, featuring the cynism and adorable aggravation of Elvis, the album contains some of my favorite Elvis songs ever like "Pump It Up", "Little Triggers", "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" and with this re-release, the single "Radio Radio". If you haven't started investigating early Costello yet, I may have to stop talking to you... next on our Elvis list is what will probably be my favorite Elvis album Armed Forces. But I'll let you know.

JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS - Sinner (Blackheart; 2006)
I dare anyone to argue the fact that Joan Jett is a rock and roll legend; without her where would some of those growling chicks be? Starting in the 70s in the Runaways with Cherie Currie and Lita Ford; Jett emerged a solo artist with a penchant for hard rock, melody and glam. Sporting covers upon covers of little known Brit rock songs strung in with her own take on 60s girl group sounds, 70s glam sounds, Jett has been making albums and encouraging the woman guitar player for decades and this is her first domestic release in over ten years. The songs are comprised of songs she released on two Japanese sets including the hard ass rock of "Fetish", and a few new songs including the fists against the wall opener, "Riddles" which is a political rant with catchy and terribly true lyrics even using a sample of the Dubwa Dumb to push the point across. In other places, Joan talks about sexuality, actual emotional upheaval and the best thing is even in her ballads, the woman rocks it out! She even redoes one of her songs, coming up with a new version of "A 100 Feet Away" which is as catchy as anything from the 60s sound it emulates. For some reason, staying true to her own vision of what she wanted to do has not made her seem dated at all; in fact the more I listen to Sinner, the more I realize how there are a lot of new bands out there still emulating the big JJ.

VEDUTA - The Elevator (Flexible; 2006)
An indie boy from Denver, Veduta is actually EK Wimmer, artist/singer/poet and I fell in love with this CD. Released via internet on Patrick's Flexible Records, the very independant label that includes Swivek on its roster, The Elevator is an EP of five songs with each one better than the last. Touching on basic human nature and loneliness, the songs are presented in a way to touch on the sadness of the lyrics but for some reason, the whole thing just leaves me elated. But don't think that these are all mellowness and tedium, each song has its own little flavor and there are some bouncy little sounds going on. Sort of the Cure meets Magnetic Fields with Wimmer's voice reminding me of a smoother Peter Murphy (don't slap me Brian!) "Intercession", "Together Again" and "You" really stand out as ace tracks, particularly "You" with lyrics that touch nerves everywhere. Wimmer's way with guitars and drums and the lyrics themselves have me playing this little EP over and over again. Oh and his voice is quite good to boot. In fact, I'm a tad jealous, he may end up being the stand out superstar of Flexible Records. So go to Flexible Records and download it!

PAT BENATAR - In The Heat Of The Night (1979; Chrysalis)
I don't think I've talked about this album before and you know even if I did, I don't give a rat's hooha because I'm typing this as I listen to the gloriousness that is Pat Benatar's debut album. From the thumpity thump drum beat in the opening number "Heartbreaker" to the ending guitar squeeze of "So Sincere", Pat has it going on in every single note of these 10 excellant songs. It was 1979 and the city was steamy and so was Patty Patty - just look at that cover; and the cover actually summed up the music you hear. The city groove of the title cut with its sultry lyrics and Pat's high octave kicking in, it's one of those overlooked tracks of such a great career; the new wave crashes in on here as well most notably on the single "We Live For Love" and the Nick Gilder cover "Rated X", but rock is there for our girl including her version of Mellenhead's "I Need A Lover" which is so much better here than his version, I don't care if he did write it. The fact a woman is not only singing lines like "I need a lover who knows the meaning of hey hit the highway/ someone who'll thrill me then just go away" but that she actually hisses the vocal. This is a woman you don't want to mess with but such a heat wave of sensuality, you would want to try it. There's cabaret lounge thrown in on "My Clone Sleeps Alone" which in turn belts into a rocking little ditty by the end of those 3 and a half minutes. The uber rock ballad "Don't Let It Show" breaks into the uber rock domination of "No You Don't" with barely a breath. Just listen to some of these songs and Pat's delivery on them - one second of hoarse foulness and one second later a high note of epic proportions all over a cover of new wave nuances and rocking guitars. In The Heat Of The Night is one of my all time favorite albums of all times and everyone should hear it. Now the whole album is recently reissued by Chrysalis in glorious sounding form - though the artwork sucks (I know I have mentioned that part) so you owe it not only for me and yourself but also for all those girls with their fists in the air who won't be taken advantage of. Perhaps there should be a new motto "What would Benatar do?" Can you see it? Numerous stickers with WWBD? I think I'm calling someone about that.

CARLY SIMON - Come Upstairs (1980; Warner Bros.)
I've had this CD for awhile but have been waiting to comment on it for a few reasons, 1. I was on my Carly kick a while back and I'm sure people began to wonder if I owned any other CDs and 2. I was hoping I would end up liking it the more I hear it. Luckily, for me, the second is becoming the case and unlucky for you, here we are to talk about Carly's toe dip into the new wave circa 1980. Everyone who was everyone was making a pseudo new wave album in the early 80s; Billy Joel had Glass Houses, Linda Ronstadt had Mad Love and Carly had Come Upstairs. They all scored top ten hits with both the singles and the albums released; Carly found her way back to the charts after a lenghty absence with "Jesse" pulled from this album and incidentally one of the Leivas' all time favorite songs; or perhaps just one of those songs he had hugely fond memories of until he heard it again - (while playing the song he said to me, "This is a pretty long song isn't it" - it clocks in at about 4:05) The album opens with the title cut, a guitar riffing keyboard laden song which has Carly at her usual sexual shenanigans not really wanting to be with the guy but figuring what the hell, she'll give him some fire and she'll give him some wood; that is probably my favorite part of the song. There's a strange little foray into the new wave with "Them" - I get the impression she is singing about men but you can't be sure, we just know she doesn't know what to about them and hopes to get help from the people she's singing to. I thought it was totally ridiculous but as is usually the case, it's now one of my favorite tracks on the album. In fact, that seems to be my whole Carly thing, I'll get an album full of high expectations only to be intially let down and then have it turn around and bite me on the ass a few weeks later. Perhaps she's not everyone's cup of tea, but the more I hear Carly's idosyncracies the more I fall in love with her. Perhaps she'll read this and invite me to Martha's Vineyard for the summer. Or get me a job working with her family at Simon & Shuster... or maybe she'll just sick "Them" on me.

SWIVEK - Darkness + Light
(2006; Flexible)
Oh my gawd, I love this album. From the beginning to the end, it's full of all kinds of greatness, a mix of rock and electro bounce, Swivek has hissy fits all over these 12 little gems. Opening with the rocking title track decrying scorned love or scorned politics but realizing there is faith and hope in the end of it all then bouncing right into the Patrick English produced electronic "Pissed" a tale of absolute scorned love and the aftermath. A theme also attached to a number of titles on this brilliant album including the electro pop of "Garboesque" (I want to be alone, I want to be alone), and the first single, the punky take what you can "You're Not The One". Garage rock picks up on "Power & Passion" and "Can't Say No To That" before moving into a more pop vein in "Auto 54" and the tale of unrequited (probably best) love in "Johnny Misunderstood." Punk and electronics guide us through the panicy "My Wounds" before full on electronic (thanx to OTV) hits us with "Need". The sarcastically sugar coated "Radio" moves gently into the final electronic opus "Intensity Is Recommended" and the whole ride is over sooner than you want. That's okay, just go back and do it all again. Of course anyone who doesn't have the album yet can download it at Flexible Records and in the next few weeks you'll be able to buy it at CD Baby and stores all over the internet. (Note: This particular review is slightly more biased than usual.)

Next week, we're going to take a multiple post journey through my favorite of CD collections - the Bubbatunes Catalog, so get those note pads ready, you're going to want to take some notes.

posted by swivek @ 2:10 PM