Odds and Ends

Each week I use this space to post some mini-reviews, cool tracks, random thoughts, neat news, or whatever else I damn well please.

MiniReview
The Brigadier “Holiday Special” [EP] - Our old friend Matt Williams, aka The Brigadier is back with another EP in his seasonal series. This one celebrates summer and is called “Holiday Special”. Things couldn’t start off better than with the beautiful sunny side up spirit of “When The Sun Comes Out”, which contains just enough crunch in the guitar to give the brilliant harmonies a nice little kick. Not only my favorite off this EP, but one of my favorite Brigadier songs. “Swansong” is a pleasantly melancholy goodbye tune while “A Holiday Romance” is a cute island-flavored song. “Ogmore-by-Sea” is an interesting mix of surf and country guitar. Like holidays, all good things must come to an end, and the Brigadier departs for now with an epic, extravagant ballad entitled “Time To Go Home”. Among his most ambitious tunes, “Time To Go Home” oscillates between breezy orchestration and rocking fuzzy guitar breaks. Definitely a few tracks on here going onto my summer playlist. More info here.

Surprise of the week
New research from Australian scientists will convince you to always have some AC/DC handy if you take out your boat into shark-infested waters. Read why here.

News
New Chickenfoot record in sight? “Chickenfoot’s second album is almost finished, and we’re hoping to mix sometime in June,” says guitarist Joe Satriani. “It is heavier, and better than the first one, and I can’t wait to get it out there!” Read more here.

In related Van Hager news, Sammy Hager and the third Van Halen singer (Gary Cherone, better known as front man for Extreme) will be sharing a stage tonight. Cherone's new band, Hurtsmile, will support Sammy Hagar and the Wabos at Casino Del Sol tonight. Cherone also commented that Extreme is back at work on a new album. The full story is here.

How about some new Pearl Jam? With Eddie Vedder’s solo record out of his system (“Ukulele Songs”), the band is back at work on new material for their tenth album. Read the full report here, and check out this video from Vedder’s solo outing.



Random iPOD song of the week
From her breakthrough record, “I Do Not Want What I Do Not Have”, this definitive breakup song from Sinead O'Connor leaves me with chills every time. This particular performance is also noteworthy as it shows Sinead in rare form – with hair!

Classic melodic rock CD of the week

By Stephen Kasenda

EXTREME “Pornograffitti " (1990)

Funny how many people didn't even know how Extreme really sounds because they're overshadowed by their own romantic acoustic love song, "More Than Words". But you need to explore the undeniably infinite musical capacity of the quartet, especially the thunderous fingerpicking by the guitar god, Nuno Bettencourt.

"Decadence Dance", for example, has an enthusiastic groove with hot-blooded guitar shredding and an anthem of a chorus. "Get The Funk Out" is an inviting performance with perfectly executed rhythm. "Hole Hearted" is an instant classic radio hit. Other songs such as "When I First Kissed You" and "It's A Monster" are madly awesome as well. A strong release and probably their best!

Read more of Stephen’s features at MetalMusicArchives.

Review: Extreme "Saudades de Rock"

Extreme is back with their first release since "Waiting for the Punchline" in 1995. I have been waiting for this day with eager anticipation - with the exception of that ironically titled "Punchline" CD, I really dug this band.

With "Saudades de Rock", Extreme make some headway in redeeming themselves for the "Punchline" fiasco. But they have some more ground to make up. The positives: Gary Cherone still sounds great, one of the most underrated rock vocalists of the genre. And Nuno still astonishes with his guitar - the guy is utterly amazing. The two of them together, especially when they harmonize, have a great chemistry (best exemplified by their mega hit "More Than Words"). It is refreshing to hear them playing together again.

The negatives: where is the melodic rock that made them famous? There are fleeting signs of their talents for melody and harmony, but they don't seem to make the full effort to reach their potential and deliver a knock out record like any from their trilogy prior to "Punchline".

My mixed feelings regarding this record began right at the start with the mediocre rocker, "Star". The next track, "Comfortably Dumb" is even worse. Then comes the best track on the record, "Learn To Love", which is pure genius - everything comes together perfectly and the guys finally synergize like we know they can. They lose me again on the rockabilly track "Take Us Alive" - it is more like a novelty song and is probably a fun break during the live show. The funk rock that is trademark Extreme kicks in with "Run" - a superb track. "Ghost" and "Interface" mark more of a return to classic Extreme balladry, and both are wonderful. Astute fans will note that "Interface" was on Nuno's excellent Dramagods release. This is the type of music I think Nuno and Cherone do best these days. "Last Hour" starts off as a promising ballad too, but for me it quickly degenerates into a grueling, lumbering chore to get through. "King of the Ladies" is another piece of junk, redundant and pointless.

Maybe my expectations were too high, but at the end of the day, it is good to hear these guys back together again. My wish is that they continue to work together, but focus on the hooks and melodies that made them a "Star".

iPOD-worthy: 1, 3, 5, 9, 11

Extreme on MySpace. Official site.

At least they don't sound like this:

Review: Tribe of Judah "Exit Elvis"

What in the name of all that is holy is going on here? This is horrible, dreadful, unlistenable. Hard rock, electronica, industrial, a little bit of soul, children singing, and lounge music just don't mix!

Gary Cherone is an enigma. He has one of the best voices in rock today, but I wish it would be used in better ways than this. He's had a very successful career with Extreme, producing 3 decent albums (the fourth one being an aptly-named joke called "Waiting for the Punchline"). After the demise of Extreme, Gary became the infamous Van Hagar singer that pooped out the atrocious CD, "Van Halen 3". Then in 2002, he puts out this mess of a CD, inviting us to join in his schizophrenic journey to Hell. Unfortunately it fails on so many levels I don't know where to begin. There is more crap on this CD than a cruise ship carrying the Norwalk virus.

"Exit Elvis" is utterly unmelodic - Gary avoids hooks like a fish on this record. Maybe that was his goal. He wanted to be experimental and that is a euphemism to describe this garbage. I couldn't find one track on this CD I'd like to listen to twice.

And the enigma goes on, his next release being an unpredictable EP of soulful light rock. Was he trying to recapture the "More Than Words" glory? I wish that he would try. It will be interesting to see what the reunited Extreme does later this year.

iPOD-worthy: uploading anything from Tribe of Judah will cause your mp3 player to give you the finger.

Gary Cherone on MySpace. Official site.

Extreme at MySpace.

Check out the video for "Thanks for Nothing":