Review: Rare CD: SR-71 "Here We Go Again"

Long time readers will know we've covered this 2004 CD from SR-71 a while back in our "rare CD" post (click here). The CD is still hard to come by ($75 used on Amazon), but lucky me I finally scored one from Japan for much less than the going rate on ebay.

For the uninitiated, SR-71 had a minor modern rock hit with the Butch Walker guided vehicle, "Right Now" in 2000. "Right Now" was from this Baltimore band's debut record, "Now You See Inside", which cracked the top 100 BillBoard albums chart. SR-71 was one of many of these young nu-wave "punk" rock bands of the time, but their debut album was full of really solid melodic rock tunes. It is still one of my favorites from this genre. I cannot say the same for the follow up record, "Tomorrow", which, to be frank, sucked. The band seemed to turn away from everything that made them worthwhile - the hooks were gone, the upbeat and energetic feel was lost, and Mitch Allen's vocals became more of a forced scream than a melodic force.

"Here We Go Again" is a return to the sound of "Now You See Inside", so it goes without saying that I like it much better than "Tomorrow". SR-71 returns to the anthem chorus, energetic songs, and quirky sense of humor that we fell in love with in 2000. It baffles me that this record was not released in the US. Heads up for fans of the 80s...this record contains lots of references to the music of that decade. Consider "Axl Rose", which playfully infuses "Sweet Child O' Mine", an excellent cover of the 80s hit by Peter Gabriel "In Your Eyes", and "1985", the hilarious tune made popular by Bowling For Soup. Even the record's title may be a reference to Whitesnake's monster 80s hit for all I know.

Other top notch cuts include the -ahem- infectious rocker entitled, "Mosquito" and "The One". "Everything" is also a blast to listen to.

Unforunately, SR-71 has had more than their share of bumps in the road. Numerous personnel changes, the shaft from record labels, and even the sad death of one of the bandmates. Lead singer and songwriter Mitch Allen appears to be going solo and I look forward to checking out that material.

iPOD-worthy: 1, 2, 5, 10, 11

Mitch Allen on MySpace.