CD Review:Marykate O'Neil

Marykate O’Neil
1-800-BANKRUPT
71
By David Chiu

The title alone is worth giving this album a listen.First, it is emblematic of O’Neil’s sense of humor; second, it is also points out the struggle of a talented artist to be heard in an era where an outlet like ‘American Idol’ is the purveyor of musical taste. O’Neil’s winning second full-length album is again a collection of brimming and sometimes whimsical power pop (“Things Are Too Good”) that masks her yearning and introspective lyrics (“Stay,” “You’ll Be Sorry,” “They’re Bound to Go Bad”). O’Neil has a strong and soulful voice that complements this filler-free collection. When she sings “I’m Ready For My Luck To Turn Around,” it’s both a tongue-in-cheek statement and a goal that hopefully will be realized.

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CD Review: T Bone Burnett

T Bone Burnett
Twenty Twenty: The Essential T Bone Burnett
Columbia/DMZ/Legacy
By David Chiu

Though he is better known these days as an A-list record producer (Elvis Costello, Counting Crows, the Wallflowers, Sam Phillips, and the O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack), T Bone Burnett has been a critically-acclaimed singer and songwriter. The material on this first ever and comprehensive 40-song retrospective cover from his work with the Alpha Band in the ‘70s (the Cold War sentiment “Born in Captivity”) to the recent previously unreleased “Bon Temps Rouler”: in between are some gems including a duet with Elvis Costello on “The People’s Limousine,” a cover of bluesman JB Lenoir’s “Man Don’t Dog Your Woman,” an adaptation of the standard “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend;” and a handsome ballad “River of Love.” Certainly influenced by Dylan (an association that dates back when Burnett was in his Rolling Thunder Revue in the mid-‘70s), Burnett crafts music in the roots rock vein with pointed, almost noir-ish lyrics of prefabricated fantasy (“Hefner and Disney”), tragic heroines (“Fatally Beautiful”) , and dark and tortured characters (“Kill Zone,” the Appalachia-sounding “Shut It Tight”) For those who only know him as only the sonic architect, Twenty Twenty is a fitting (re)introduction to Burnett’s work as a criminally underrated artist.

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CD Review: World Party

World Party
Dumbing Up
Seaview
By David Chiu

Multinstrumentalist Karl Wallinger—who is essentially World Party— may be the last great stylist popular music has these days. As evident on this latest work—the first new World Party album in almost a decade—Wallinger again draws inspiration from the past: the Beatles (“Another 1000 Years”), Dylan (“Who Are You”), ‘70s funk (Here Comes the Future), and early Elton (the ambitious socially-conscious finale "Always on My Mind"). The rest of the album is very introspective and spare as on “You’re A Hurricane:” and the beauty of “High Love.” Wallinger’s strongest gift merging melodic hooks and a high-minded idealism into intelligently and exquisitely crafted pop music (further enhanced by the fact that Wallinger’s singing sounds like another mastermind, ELO’s Jeff Lynne). Dumbing Up, a contender for one of the year’s top albums, proves how sorely missed Wallinger and co. was in the last ten years.

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CD Review: Barry Manilow

Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow II
Tryin’ to Get the Feeling
Even Now
Barry Manilow Live
Arista/Legacy
By David Chiu

How Barry Manilow became a huge star in the ‘70s—the same decade that brought arena rock, disco, and punk—is still one of pop music’s greatest mysteries. Then again, it was the ‘70s. Manilow’s sound owed more to Tin Pan Alley, (definitely) Broadway, and jazz than conventional rock. For better or worse, the combination of memorable hooks, a little flash, and that boyish Brooklyn charm are some of the factors that explain his enduring popularity.

Three of Manilow’s ‘70s prime-era studio albums, now released in expanded editions, don’t really distinguish themselves from each other stylistically and draw on the same blueprint: pining romantic ballads and brief flirtations with rock and jazz. Barry Manilow II (1973) was Manilow’s breakout hit, thanks to probably his best song ever “Mandy,” an interpretation of a song that was originally titled “Brandy.” The rest of the album is laid back pop from the funky opener “I Want to Be Somebody’s Baby,” the semi-autobiographical “Something’s Coming Up,” and the propulsive disco strands of “It’s a Miracle. The record’s most adventurous track is “Avenue C,” which features some scat singing, a harbinger of Manilow’s latter direction towards jazz in the ‘80s.

Again, the formula doesn’t change much on Tryin’ to Get the Feeling (1975) although Manilow varies it up a bit with the upbeat and dramatic New York City Rhythm (with a Latin-esque/Santana coda towards the end), the swinging ‘Bandstand Boogie,” and that golden chestnut “I Write the Songs” (written by Beach Boys’ Bruce Johnston) . The ballads also keep-a-coming with the title track and “As Sure I’m Standing Here.”

Manilow’s best album during this period is Even Now (1978), which contains three of his popular songs: the swinging showtune “Copacabana (which doesn’t have a happy ending if you read the lyrics), “Can’t Smile Wthout You.,” and the dramatic title tack. Here, Manilow sounds more confident and assured even on like “Somewhere in the Night” and “”Where Do I Go From Here” that sound less ingratiating than his previous ballads.

The double-disc Barry Manilow Live (1977) may seem at first an anti-climactic pat-on-the back (it was the first album to displace the amazing chart-topping run of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours). It’s actually an enjoyable listen where the performances sound spontaneous and it explains Manilow’s natural finesse and gifts as a showman then and now. It’s hard not to crack a smile upon hearing “A Very Strange Medley” of commercials he either sang and/or penned (McDonalds,’ State Farm Insurance, and Dr. Pepper) before he became hugely popular. The spirited set also contains the hits that were not on the aforementioned reissued studio albums: “Daybreak,” the heartfelt “Weekend in New England,” and “Looks Like We Made It,” and tacks on several tracks not on the original release for the full Barry live experience. (“Let Me Go,” “One of These Days”). Even for all its Vegas-like show glitz, the newly reissued and expanded Live is strictly the Holy Grail for his fans.

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CD Review: Cheap Trick

Cheap Trick
Rockford
Cheap Trick Unlimited/Big 3 Records
By David Chiu

Right off the bat, “Welcome to the World,” gets Cheap Trick’s latest and best album to date on its proper and rollicking start. That song, which recalls solo Ian Hunter, and the other 11 tunes on Rockford contain the signature elements long associated with the band: crunchy power pop riffs and hooks, Rick Nielsen’s guitar gymnastics, Robin Zander’s golden throat, and the tight rhythm section of bassist Tom Petersson and Bun E. Carlos. Rockford is a fitting record to celebrate Trick’s 30th anniversary since recording its debut Cheap Trick. Free of the gloss and record company interference that have mired the band’s output for most of the ‘80s and early ‘90s, the band returns to the glorious sound of its late ‘70s prime with each tune: the charming “If It Takes a Lifetime” sounds like it could have been on either the “In Color” or “Heaven Tonight” albums; “Come On Come On Come On” and “This Time You Got It” (not a remake of “Come On Come On”) could have bolstered “All Shook Up.” For two of the members who worked on John Lennon’s final studio album, the influence of the legendary Beatle is evident on the lovely “O Claire.” With that exception of that song, each track follows one another seamlessly in one energetic and exuberant rush. No wonder Cheap Trick set the standard that many young alternative rock bands have followed since.

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Interview: Mellowdrone

Mellowdrone: Music Straight Out of the Box
By David Chiu

Whatever one thinks upon hearing the debut of the L.A.-based quartet Mellowdrone’s debut album, ‘happy’ music doesn’t come to mind.On the contrary, the group’s debut album Box (3 Records/Red Ink) is rather a moody and atmospheric album that imagines collaboration between David Lynch and Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor: a cinematic-sounding work that achieves middle ground between ugliness and beauty.

An amalgam of electronica and guitars, Box is a journey to the other side of the human condition that should appeal to both alternative and industrial rock fans. “Fashionably Uninvited,” the record’s single, seem to reflect what Mellowdrone is all about: arresting and hypnotic electronic beats, Bates’s airy detached voice, intense rock rhythms, and a chilling mood.

Mellowdrone founder Bates was originally from Venezuela before he and his family moved to Miami when he was 7. He attended Berklee College of Music before he headed for Los Angeles to form Mellowdrone as a one-man unit. A few years ago, Mellowdrone opened for ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr’s band the Healers on a European tour. Since then, Mellowdrone has expanded to a quartet and went on the road in support of the new album.

Bates spoke to NewBeats about Mellowdrone’s music and the career up to this point.

1. Even though Mellowdrone has been in existence for a while now, the band has just released its major label debut a month ago. How does it feel to finally to have recorded music out?

Like a cathartic blessing. Now I can let these songs go and work on new things. My mom is psyched.

2. The music is very moody and atmospheric; there are some eclectic elements drawn from industrial, rock, pop, and dance? Is that how you would describe your style and approach in making music?

Whatever is needed to make the song I'll use. I’m not bashful in experimenting with which way to go with a song to make it work.

I've personally found it to be harder to stick to a style or genre of sound. That kind of militancy bores me. I enjoy too many things to just stick to one, so I use whatever is around me as a catalyst. Ultimately, I want shit to sound the way I feel when I take a hot shower or eat a nice filet mignon.

3. How was it like working with Tony Berg? As producer, what did he bring to the making of the record?

Musically, there are a handful of people whose opinion ill listen to. He is one of them. we speak the same language and have formed a relationship that is very resilient. We'll go to the mattresses on some shit, call each other names, and then be cool the next day. That dude was born to love music. I also sometimes go on infinite tangents, and he'll be the guy who'll be like "time to come back now..." Finally, he's been a dope friend.

4. It is interesting in the press bio that you mention the composer Angelo Badalamente, who inspired the song “Fashionably Uninvited” because that song and the rest of the album sound very cinematic. It could be on the soundtrack of a David Lynch or Warchowski Brothers’ film.

I wish man. David Lynch is the sex. His movies aren’t bad either.

5. Are the moody and dark sentiments in your lyrics reflect your own personal experiences, based on imagination, or a little bit of both? Is there a difference between Jonathan the rock star and Jonathan the person offstage?

Until recently, I haven’t been able to write shit as someone else. Everything on this record is autobiographical, almost bits of conversation. It’s a learning curve deal to me. I really enjoy familiar conversational phrases in new musical contexts.

6. I read the back story to “Limb to Limb,” and it is very harrowing. I’m sure for Tony it was a life-defining experience, so when you were composing the song, what mood did you wanted to evoke? Was it hard losing Tony at that time when you were on tour?

Seeing Tony in a coma and not knowing if he was going to live a normal life was one of the most nauseating days I’ve seen. In turn, I just wanted to write something to honor how fucked that shit was. Tony came to me with the music bit pretty much done, and all I did was write words. No double meaning, just earnest questions on what its like to fly through plate glass at 82 miles per hour.

7. Was the song “And Repeat” your tongue in cheek view of the music business?

It was one of the first songs I wrote and its a naive look at the music business.
Sure, the song was about some air dude being a douche, but I guess I’m just as much of a douche for writing a little ditty about what a douche he was to begin with. Thereby, completing the circle of life.

8. I did listen to the metal-influenced guitar solo on "Oh My" and it did remind me of Zak Wylde and that type of ‘80s playing. Did you like that style of pyrotechnic playing a la Wylde and Randy Rhoads?

I love it. its how I learned how to play instruments. What I love even more is that its SO taboo today. That was honestly why I threw it in there. I felt anybody whose gonna give me shit can suck it, cause Zakk Wylde is the dopest.

9. In relation to that, how was it like opening for Johnny Marr for his European tour? Were you a Smiths fan?

I absolutely was and am. I was blessed by that tour because I got hang out with Johnny Marr for 6 months on his bus, with his crew and saw the world and made friends. He's just a genuinely nice guy and made me feel welcome.

10. Who were some of your musical influences growing up?

Here’s a list of the usual suspects:
Angelo Badalamenti
Scott Walker
Pantera
the Kinks
Roy Orbison
the Carpenters
Willie Nelson
Boyz II Men
ABBA
Neil Young
the Misfits
Slayer
Tom Petty

11. You have released an EP with all the music handled by yourself and you performed solo. Do you like being a one-man band or working within the group dynamic?

Apples and Oranges. If I had to choose one, I love being within a group. When everyone is driving the same thing and you get to jump around and shit, its a lot of fun.

12. Was your first exposure to music when you were in Venezuela? If so, did you absorb those influences when you were there?

It was pretty much my dad playing whatever instrument around the house. He would play songs (top 40 hits, Peruvian folk songs, whatever...) and me and my little sister would dance around, making up words. My mom and I would listen to the Beatles on the way to kindergarten.

13. At what point did you decide you wanted to become a musician?

I never really had a deciding moment. Shit just is what it is.

14. You are quoted as saying in the press bio, “I don’t want to reinvent the wheel. I just want to ride it for a little while.” With the record and the tour, how has the ride been? What do you want to accomplish next?

Just like anything else: really amazing, then harrowing, then depressing, then inspiring. That’s usually in the same day. Honestly, I just want to do and be responsible for cool shit. Like I said earlier, the feeling of a hot shower, nice steak and some sex.

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Live Review: Chicago

Chicago
Radio City Music Hall
May 8, 2006
Review by David Chiu
Photo by Lauren Termini

There is one thing that has not changed about Chicago in its 40-year-history: its ability to showcase its versatile musicianship. From its early incarnation as the Big Thing in 1967, Chicago has always been a show band that can build up a sweat and still please an audience on stage. Even if its later records have evolved into high-tech glossy affairs that departed from the brassy avant garde and pop of its ‘70s heyday, the horn-powered outfit can always be counted to deliver the goods onstage every year.

And that is what the band did at a recent stop at Radio City Music Hall on May 9 as the group enters its 40th year of touring. Without a gimmicky stage-up or extra backing musicians that are usually follow tours by aging rock stars, the eight-man band just came out without pomp and pumped out hit after hit after hit (at last count, it performed 23 songs in the set, and there was maybe a good dozen more it could have added).

After years of only playing the hits on the road, this time around Chicago has its first new album in 15 years, Chicago XXX, to promote. However, only two songs from that album were performed: “Feel,” perhaps the group’s best song in years and sung by Robert Lamm, and the other “Love Will Come Back,” a ballad. Although some of the material on that album represents a return to form with the horns back to the forefront, the band perhaps knew wisely not to disappoint its audience weaned on those old classics.

And the band didn’t let the crowd down as the show tilted more towards the ‘70s era hits: the entire “Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon” suite (containing the opener “Make Me Smile” and “Colour My World”), “Old Days,” “Dialogue,” “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?,” “Just You and Me,” and the good ol’ standby “Saturday in the Park.” Only two of the ‘80s power ballads were performed and were not as overbearing as their glossy album versions: “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” and “Look Away” (to the band’s credit or to the fans’ chagrin, “You’re The Inspiration” and “Hard Habit to Break” failed to make the set list) The surprise was a loose, heartfelt take on “You’re Not Alone,” an underrated gem from Chicago 19 sung by keyboardist Bill Champlin.

The ‘unplugged’ segment of the program was Chicago recasting its songs from the near-perfect recreations of the studio originals that were first recorded by former bassist Peter Cetera: the Latin-flavored “Another Rainy Day in New York City” sung by Lamm, followed by “Happy Man,” which featured a rare lead vocal by the group’s trumpeter Lee Loughnane.

Each of the members played well, especially the founding members, keyboardist Lamm, the only singer from the original band, and the section of trombonist James Pankow, trumpeter Loughnane, and woodwinds player Walter Parazaider; the latter members included bassist and vocalist Jason Scheff, keyboardist Champlin, drummer Tris Imboden, and Keith Howland, who might be the best guitar player the band has had since Terry Kath, who died in 1978. Howland’s playing would make his predecessor very proud, especially from his solos on “Dialogue” and “25 or 6 to 4.”

Chicago may not always get the respect it deserves from critics (The band has yet to be inducted in to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) but the songs have remained familiar staples of pop radio. Even if the songs are considered middle of the road to most rock fans, one can’t argue with their staying power. For the aging boomers and new fans in attendance, the Radio City show was a two-hour musical jukebox of those horn-flavored favorites.

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CD Review: LeRoy Bell

LeRoy Bell
Two Sides to Every Story
Martez Music
By David Chiu

British pop star James Blunt maybe the king of sensitive guy music these days, but LeRoy Bell is poised to be his serious competition for that crown. Brimming with delicate, acoustic-infected arrangements and winsome pop sensibilities (not surprisingly since his uncle is the legendary producer/songwriter Thom Bell), Bell’s Two Sides to Every Story is an album that is heartfelt and not overly maudlin. One can hear that sincerity right from Bell’s earthy and soulful voice on material that is mainly about relationships (“Still Not Over You,” “He Can’t Hold Her,” “20 Years From Now”), and offers insightful and yet hopeful commentary about society (“21st Century Man,” the ethereal “Dream of Peace”). Through his music, Bell sometimes makes it difficult for even the most detached listener not to feel something: that’s the mark of a successful artist.

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Grant McLennan 1958-2006

Grant McLennan, the singer/songwriter/guitarist/co-founder of one of alternative rock’s acclaimed bands, the Go-Betweens, passed away on May 6 at the age of 48. Formed in Australia in 1977, the Go-Betweens—led by McLennan and his partner Robert Forster— released several critically-lauded albums through the ‘80s, including Spring Hill Fair, the brilliant Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express, Tallulah, and 16 Lovers Lane before disbanding in 1990. Ten years later, the duo reunited and released three more studio albums including its most recent from last year, Oceans Apart. McLennan had penned some of the most lovely, melodic songs in the band’s canon such as “Streets of Your Town” and “Cattle and Cane.” During the group's hiatus McLennan recorded some solo albums and was part of Jack Frost with Steve Kilbey of the Church.

This picture was taken last year at the Go-Betweens’s show at New York City’s Mercury Lounge—fuzzy as the photo is, McLennan is the man in the orange/red on the right. I’ll never forget while I was waiting on line outside to get into the venue when McLennan, Forster, and the rest of the band came through the front door. I think Forster offered the bouncer a bite of his pretzel. It’s those little things that leaves a deep impression of a special band who now lost an irreplaceable member.

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CD Review: The Fiery Furnaces

The Fiery Furnaces
Bitter Tea
Fat Possum
By David Chiu

To merely say the music is ‘eclectic’ on the latest album by the Brooklyn-based brother-sister team of Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger would be the understatement of the year.Bitter Tea is a dizzying array of influences and sonic effects: Yoko Ono, Gilbert and Sullivan, electronic, avant garde, disco, Rick Wakeman, lounge and circus music. Not even Moby or Prince is that ambitious. And yet this cacophony of sounds all blends into an interesting whole with each song easily morphing into the next. Throughout the buzzing sounds, and Casio-like keyboards, the Furnaces doesn’t alienate those weaned on conventional pop as tunes such as “Teach Me Sweeheart,” “I’m Waiting to Know You,” and the winsome Nevers prove otherwise. Matthew Friedberger’s lyrics seem to take a page from the Steely Dan songbook: cryptic, off-handed, stream-of-consciousness as it is literary (How many songwriters out there would name drop Mormon founder Joseph Smith?). His sister Eleanor’s vocals, which is reminiscent of Patti Smith’s, adds a wistful and sometimes robotic chill to this conceptual work. For of its experimentations, Bitter Tea is quite easy to take a swill and deserving of a second helping. Don’t be surprised to hear this being played in many alternative record stores such as NYC’s Kim’s Underground.

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DVD Review: Cream

Cream
Classic Albums: ‘Disraeli Gears’ (DVD)
Eagle Vision
By David Chiu

Because Cream set the standard for accomplished musicianship and invented power rock, one forgets that the trio of Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, and Eric Clapton was also a brilliant pop act that placed the occasional single on the charts.Rolling Stone editor David Fricke, who appears on this documentary of the making of Cream’s classic 1966 second album Disraeli Gears, made a great point: that a track like “Sunshine Of Your Love” found an unlikely place on pop radio along with the Supremes. The documentary explores the Disraeli Gears album track by track with the original members fresh off the spectacular reunion shows from last year along with lyricist Pete Brown and legendary Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun. Tracks such as the aforementioned Sunshine, “Tales of Brave Ulysses,” and “Strange Brew” have since become staples of classic rock radio, but the documentary also revisits the rest of the album, each number an amalgam of both old-time American blues and ‘60s psychedelia (The program even goes to describe the story behind the album’s famous day-glo cover). Obviously Clapton became the superstar of the group, but thankfully the documentary gives equal time to all three principals who provide insightful commentary and perform acoustic performances of “Sunshine,” “Outside Woman Blues,” and “We’re Going Wrong” You can see and hear why on this program there has been so many bands influenced by Cream—a band who has been widely imitated but never duplicated.

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DVD Review: Queen

Queen
Classic Albums: The Making of ‘A Night at the Opera’
Eagle Vision
By David Chiu

A Night At the Opera, Queen’s 1975 masterful fourth album, solidified the group’s popularity both in the UK and US. It defined what the group was all about: excess, pomp, pageantry, bombast, precision, camp, and great music. Oh, and it also has Queen’s signature six-minute epic “Bohemian Rhapsody” too. On this excellent DVD documentary, the album is discussed and analyzed song-by-song with commentary by surviving members Brian May and Roger Taylor, producer Roy Thomas Baker, Elektra Jac Holzman, and Rolling Stone editor Anthony DeCurtis. It also contains archival footage providing a glimpse into the painstaking work involved, from the sound effects to the multitracking that made “Bohemian Rhapsody” wacky and beloved. Through the documentary one really appreciates the late great singer Freddie Mercury not only as one of rock’s flamboyant frontman but a gifted musician and songwriter (Highlights also include a live performance of “Sweet Lady” from the famous 1976 Hyde Park show, and acoustic performances by May of “Good Company” and “’39”).. Not often spoke about in the conversations about the greatest rock albums in the league of Pet Sounds, Sgt, Pepper, Rumours and Dark Side of the Moon, A Night at the Opera stands out as a benchmark of ‘70s rock and roll grandeur.

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'80s Gold

Various Artists
‘80s Gold
Hip-O/UME
By David Chiu

‘80s Gold shouldn’t be regarded as the ultimate compilation because it doesn’t have the one-hit wonders that made that decade either memorable or notorious(“Video Killed the Radio Star,” “99 Luftballoons,” and “Too Shy” just to name a few). Featuring songs that were #1 on the Billboard charts, ‘80s Gold covers a spectrum of styles from New Wave (Blondie’s “Call Me”); electropop (Michael Sembello’s “Maniac”); soft rock (Christopher Cross’s Sailing, and the syrupy “Endless Love” by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie), alternative rock; (Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”), classic rock (Boston’s “Amanda”); and New Jack Swing (Bobby Brown’s “My Prerogative”). As indicated on this collection, the MTV era in which veteran stars from the previous decade, such as Tina Turner (“What’s Love Got to Do With It”), Robert Palmer (“Addicted to Love”), Steve Winwood (“Higher Love”), and Heart (“Alone”), saw their careers get a second wind. The inclusion of “Waiting for a Girl Like You” by Foreigner is a little unusual given the fact that song only hit #2 on the charts, granted it stayed at that position for an astounding ten weeks. Glaring omissions aside—Duran Duran, Culture Club, Bon Jovi, Cyndi Lauper, and, of course, Michael Jackson, Prince, and Madonna—the set is a good sampler for those nostalgic for the skinny tie and big hair.

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