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!

Review: Pearl Jam "Backspacer"

While I consider their first three records among the best recordings I own, shortly after 1996's "No Code" I no longer got too excited about a new release from Pearl Jam. They too often seemed to go out of their way to avoid good hooks in their music and cluttered their records with baffling filler. I caught wind of the "controversy" surrounding their latest (ninth) release, "Backspacer", with enough critics and fans slamming the band for sounding too melodic (oh the horror!) that I had to check it out for myself.

For me, "Backspacer" is the record I've always wanted Pearl Jam to make. It is unabashed garage rock that by in large retains the trademark Pearl Jam sound (hard to avoid with Vedder's distinct vocals) yet finally dares to contain songs that you will remember and want to sing. It is a quick fix - just 37 minutes or so - but it comes at you like a bunch of fast jabs, with only a few quiet moments. "Backspacer" makes both the classic and punk rock influences of Pearl Jam more evident than ever. Vedder puts in plenty of umph as usual, but comes across as more sincere this time - you can almost feel him having a good time for once! The band also incorporates some piano, acoustic guitars, and other dynamics that make "Backspacer" an added pleasure to hear over and over again.

Refusing to slow down until the atypically gentle acoustic ballad, "Just Breathe", the band rocks out with gusto on cuts like "Gonna See My Friend" and the catchy single, "The Fixer". Other highlights include the groovy "Force of Nature" and supercharged energy of "Supersonic".

"Backspacer" is a thrill. Even if you've grown disenchanted with Pearl Jam, pick this one up and see if you agree that it is their best since "Vitalogy".

iPOD-worthy: ALL TRACKS

Pearl Jam - official site.

Rare CD: Pearl Jam "Reenk Roink"

"Pearl Jam - Reenk Roink (Alternate version of "Ten") CD

In November of 1991, my freshman year in college, I was a DJ at WNUR in Evanston, Illinois.

My friend Jamie did an interview with Mike McCready and Dave Abbruzzese of Pearl Jam before their show at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago with Smashing Pumpkins and Red Hot Chili Peppers that I engineered for her.

Nice guys. They thought I was funny and gave me a t-shirt with Mookie Blaylock on it. I still have it somewhere, if it would be of interest.

Because of the above, I somehow ended up with this cd in my possession, which is a "Reenk Roink" version of the band's first album Ten. There appear to have been only a few dozen of these discs ever made.

I have confirmed that the DISP-001152 1 serial number on the disc's inner circle matches the information on pjcollectors.com. I've uploaded a picture of the disc matrix.

There is blue marker on the disc face, listing the band name, album title and the words "Reeenk Roink."

While the jewel case face has a crack in it, I would be happy to put this disc in a new jewel case for the auction winner or leave it in its original case.

There is no booklet or tray card.

Five Horizons wrote the following about this cd:

"Never fear, vinyl haters, there are also rare CD's in the collector's book. The first on the list is the infamous "Reenk Roink" CD, which was a first run pressing copy of "Ten" that was hand-decorated by the band (Jeff and Ed seem to have shared chores) and handed out to clubs, radio stations, etc...These are super-rare; there were allegedly only 10, but I've seen more than that turn up on eBay over the past few years. There are probably no more than two dozen. You need to be VERY CAREFUL that you are buying a real one, and not a fake, as I've seen several questionable examples of this CD float around. If you're in the market for one of these, get to know what they are supposed to look like by watching and not bidding on some auctions. Ask around, see if people on a mailing list or BBS have one that they can scan for you...This is my favorite collectible; it's like holding a piece of Pearl Jam history in your hand."

If you have any questions about this collectable, I am happy to answer them for you. In my e-research I've read a lot about scams and people trying to pass off fakes of this item, but hopefully the fact that I sell items under my own name will give this auction some added validity.

Jon Solomon"

Sold for $1,651.02 on ebay (33 bids).

Rare CD for sale! PEARL JAM "Attenzione"

I'm selling some rare CDs! Contact me for info and with your best price.

Here we have PEARL JAM "Attenzione" (1994, Italy Import)

Tracks: Even Flow; Once; State of Love & Trust; Alive; Why Go; Porch; Attenzione/Jeremy; Breathe; I've Got A Feeling; Hunger Strike/Leash

Recorded LIVE IN ITALY during "10 European Tour", Feb 1992