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
Simon Felton “Surrender, Dorothy!” – This is the second solo record from Garfield’s Birthday’s Simon Felton. His last solo CD, “Failing In Biology”, was a notable nugget of smart Brit pop (read review here). Felton marches along the same track on “Surrender, Dorothy!”, constructing careful melodies augmented with airy harmonies and psychedelic overtones. The hooks take longer to sink in than last time and the abundance of slower tracks is going to make some people yawn. On the other hand, there is some more sizzling guitar work to be found – check out the solo on “Peepshow” for example. The main attraction is the pop perfection in “Marbles”, and “Novelty” is another highlight I’d encourage you to check out. Recommended for fans of The Smiths, XTC, and The Divine Comedy.
Simon Felton – Official site.

Surprise of the week
Footloose is being remade. But the surprise comes from looking at the soundtrack artists…dissing Kenny Loggins and recruiting the likes of Cee-Lo Green amongst a bunch of country stars and…Smashing Pumpkins?! What sort of musical schizophrenic is going to want this? Here are the gory details.

And if that isn’t bad enough, they are remaking Dirty Dancing too.

News
Swallow this: Poison frontman Bret Michaels believes the band will make another album when the time is right. Here’s to hoping they can recapture the magic of their heyday. Read the story here.

Whose gonna buy your wild reissues? Get a load of all you get with the 20th Anniversary edition of U2’s landmark record “Achtung Baby” – check it out here.

Another hodgepodge of “new” stuff is coming from Foreigner in September. A 3CD collection – one acoustic disk, one full of re-recordings of hits (why?), and one of a live concert. Read all about it here.

New Butch Walker called “The Spade” arrives August 30. In the meantime, grab a FREE DOWNLOAD of the first single, “Summer of ‘89”. Details here.

Michael Sweet has left the band Boston for his old band, Stryper. Good news, bad news, who cares? Story here.

Random iPOD song of the week
Pop perfection. Squeeze’s “Hourglass” – one of their finest moments.

Classic melodic rock CD of the week

By Stephen Kasenda

FOREIGNER “Mr. Moonlight” (1995)

There are two important things to mention about Foreigner’s "Mr. Moonlight". First, it marked the return of Lou Gramm to the band, and also long-time members Rick Wills and Dennis Elliot. Second, the album basically marked the end of this chapter of Foreigner until Jones resurrected the band in 2009 with a new lineup. 1995 was surely a bad year for melodic rock - album sales were disappointing and rated so low that many people didn't even know the band still existed. However, this record has many good songs worth listening to, especially if you love the tender tunes of AOR.

I'm gonna start with "White Lie", a great upbeat track to start the album. This one is followed by "Rain", and the smooth transition of each note is lovable. "Until The End of Time" is relatively unknown, but the single reached a quite respectable position in the Adult Contemporary chart back then. Some other notable tracks are "Running The Risk", "I Keep Hoping" (which is the best ballad on the album), and "Hand On My Heart". The rest are good except "Real World" and "Big Dog", which I think should have been left behind and replaced with other songs in the veins of "Cold As Ice" or "Waiting For A Girl Like You".

It's nice to see the recent comeback of Lou Gramm, whose voice is still as strong as in the 80s. "Mr. Moonlight" is an underrated gem with a lot of high value goodies that you can find cheap. Don't let anyone fool you into thinking that this album is horrible!

Read more of Stephen’s features at MetalMusicArchives.

Review: Foreigner "Can't Slow Down"

I didn't think we'd ever have the pleasure of reviewing a new record from Foreigner, the classic rock and AOR band that first formed back in late 70s. I imagine some fans are confused as to how the current line up can justify calling themselves Foreigner, seeing that the only conserved founding member is Mick Jones. But we're not here to debate that, we are here to tell you if the record is worthwhile.

The first thing that struck me about "Can't Slow Down" is how well this group of guys have captured the trademark Foreigner sound. Kelly Hansen (Hurricane) became the new lead vocalist since Lou Gramm's second departure in 2003. Much like Arnel Pineda substituting for Steve Perry in Journey, Hansen sounds remarkably close to Gramm, yet still retains enough of his own style that a discerning ear can tell the difference. Hansen does an excellent job on this record.

But the second reason why this record is such a pleasant surprise pertains to the simple fact that Mick Jones brought a batch of very solid AOR songs to the studio table. Always wise to balance rock with melody, Jones and the boys aim to please with this set of punchy and catchy tunes. While I found the ballads to be largely uninteresting ("As Long As I Live" being an exception), the record makes up for this with plenty of midtempo and upbeat numbers.

Does the record sound dated? Yes and no. They kept the keyboards down to a minimum, so that element of their 80s heyday is unnoticeable. But Foreigner is bringing saxy back with this record! Numerous songs feature some in your face sax, which is something I've not heard much of since the 80s.

Highlights include "In Pieces", "Living In A Dream", "Lonely", and the title track. Another cool one is the closer, "Fool For You Anyway", which is a horn-laced and soulful retro rocker in the finest Joe Cocker tradition (long time fans will recognize this song from Foreigner's debut CD many years ago). I had a lot of fun with this record - like I said, it was a pleasant surprise. Lyrically and musically, "Can't Slow Down" largely sticks to the classic AOR formula, but there is a charm and energy here that makes the record worthwhile. Younger acts can learn a lot from these seasoned rockers who once again demonstrate that memorable songs start with good hooks.

iPOD-worthy: 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

Foreigner on MySpace. Official site

Review: Foreigner "Mr. Moonlight"

Foreigner is legendary...few bands have released more consistently good AOR singles over the course of two decades. But, all too common with highly successful bands, individual egos start to swell and there is no longer enough room in the studio for so many big heads. The feuds between lead singer Lou Gramm and guitarist Mick Jones are equally legendary, and we fans were deprived of a third decade of Foreigner's brand of rockin' AOR. By 1988, the band was dissolved and Gramm and Jones did their own thing. Jones flopped with a new incarnation of Foreigner using Johnny Edwards (releasing "Unusual Heat" in 1991). Gramm flopped with his new band, Shadow King (1991). By 1992, perhaps with egos now back in check and wallets in need of a refill, Gramm and Jones put their differences aside to reform Foreigner and record a comeback/reunion album.

But the 90s in general were not kind to AOR bands, and "Mr. Moonlight" suffered for it. But the record is just a victim of circumstance...on its own, "Mr. Moonlight" is a solid Foreigner record. The production is great and Gramm's chops were, as always, fantastic. The songwriting is not as strong as the biggest Foreigner records, but tracks like "Rain," "White Lie," and "All I Need To Know" are slices of AOR heaven. The beautiful, moody ballad "I Keep Hoping" should have been a hit. It is a crime the band had to go out on a whimper.

iPOD-worthy: 2, 4, 7, 9

Foreigner on MySpace. Official site.

Link to the music video for the single, "Until the End of Time"