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MARK BRYAN
30 On The Rail
Atlantic
Well, this is just what the world
needs... a Hootie & The Blowtish solo
album. Apparently, most ot these
songs were written before the tame (or
notoriety) that Bryan and his Blowtish
compatr.o‘s received, and they were
recorded a lew years ago. afte r the
Faiweather Johnson tour The tact that
Atlantic took sc long to release this is
reason enough to question its contents
without even listening to it.
Fortunately. Mark assembled a
crack band including legendary
sideman Peter Holsapple (The dB's,
R.E.M.). studio wiz Don Dixon
(Reflection Studio), and the drumming
dervish, Fred leBlanc (Cowboy
Mouth). Members ot Carolina bands
Hobex and The Blue Dogs a'so show
up. My favorite guest appearance
comes on ‘City By The River,* a Boot*
reject rescued by Danielle Howie’s
great backup vocal that lends a David
Crosby-like feel to the Stonesy song.
While Bryan’s voice is certainly not
the most expressive, he does just fine
on tne super melodic opening track.
‘When It Happens, If Happens.’ The
jangly anthem is short, sweet, upbeat
and tight. If Kootie did more songs iike
this, the length of its relevance might
be extended.
Unfortunately, there are only a
couple «• other numbers here of note.
Til fade Away’ stands out with its
octave-driven guitar iiook. ‘Drinkin’
You Pretty* is also a standout, but not
in a good way. Ite just a poorly written
tune that's almost embarrassing, but
I'm sure it will become a frat boy/drunk
singalong with its pseudo sloppy feel
and production.
The biggest surprise to me was the
closing track ‘She Stays In Love.*
Drummer Fred LeBlanc makes this one
kick. It's basically a jangle-thrash
number (a la R E M.$ ‘Star 69"). It
confirms that on occasion, Bryan is not
only a craftsman of mediocre modern
‘classics.’ but he could rock out it he
chose to do so. 30 On the Rail is a lot
better than expected, but still hit or
miss Wait for it to hit the bargain bin.
then check it out. (t290 6th Ave., NY,
NY 10016)
Chris McKay
THE SUNSHINE FIX
The Future History Of A
Sunshine Fix
Kindercere
•Yith the Oiivia Tremor Control
takif »g a break, co-leader Bill Doss, or
‘thebilldoss* if you prefer, has come up
with The Sunshine Fix to explore some
new directions with z lew friends.
Future History... works as a sampler,
five songs in different styles that all
work.
The opener. ‘The Sound’s Around
You,’ starts off in a familiar Elephant
6/Brian Wilson-type mood, then kicks
into a spacy groove, with ubiquitous
bassist Derek Almstead (Of Montreal)
getting funky as Doss croons in a hazy
falsetto. The soul comes back later with
‘Future History And The Irrelevance Of
Time,' this time as a smooth ballad
that seems to generate its own mirror
ball.
Elsewhere. Doss goes country for
“Last Night I Had A Dream,' sounding
like he's playing for the inmates at San
Quentin, and even ventures into
drum'n'bass on ‘The Many Keys To
Reunion.’
In just a shade over 15 minutes
(on top of his brief Kmdercore Expo
2000 set recently). Doss had laid the
groundwork for exciting new work to
come. An LP should be on its way
soon, followed by a lour. If this EP is
an accurate indication. The Sunshine
Fix can become a vital act on its own
that complements Olivia Tremor
Control without being overshadowed
by it. (P 0. Box 461. Athens. GA
30603)
Jay Nagy
THE SC ARIES
Wishing One Last Time
Route 14
North Carolina’s The Scaries are
lust another teen style punk-pop band
in the vein of Blink 182 and Green Day
While less commercial and even more
adrenaline fueled than their major label
contemporaries, they still haven't har
nessed anything to make them stand
out in an already over glutted field.
The album is full of spirited, air
tight playing, but the songs just don’t
stand up. Every track is about hsing
love or preparing to lose love or get
ting over a lost love. It gets tiresome.
By the time I got to the standard
modem punk collection acoustic
closer, ‘Untitled.’ I had heard more
than enough They probably only
called it that because Tune Of Your
Life* was already taken anyway. I don't
mean to make it sound worse than it is.
Tnese guys are obviously musically
gifted. The Iron Maiden and Anthntx-
style drumming works perfectly with
the octave splitting guitars, snarling
bass and Robert Smith singing for The
Outfield vocals, but The Scaries jusf
lack solid material. The title of the
record is hopefully not completely
reflective. I hope they have at least one
more wish in them If you just cant get
enough of So-Cal punk, get this.
Otherwise, wait and see wnat they do
next. (P. 0. Box 501, Langhorne. PA
19047)
Chris McKay
SENOR COCONUT
Y Su Conjunto: El Baile Aleman
Emperor Norton
You know what's a pretty half-
assed attempt at postmodern zaniness 7
This album' You know what else is?
You guessed it—this review! Is any ot
this any tun”? ah together now—No'
Tel! you what If you enjoyed that
first paragraph, go buy this album and
laugh yer ass off. Hell, put ‘er on col
lege radio right next to Wesley Willis.
Or try to take ihe album on its own
terms: Latm-style covers of Kraftwerk
There are worse ideas, and really the
quality of the idea doesn't mean shi* if
the follow-through works out. But
Sefior Coconut (AKA Dwt Schmidt oi
Germany. Chile since "97) doesn't pull
it off. He’s noi Titc Puente and he’s not
taking any ot this or us very seriously
This pisses me ofl Not the n»jsic
itself, really, because if I got pissed at
all the half-assed music around I’d
move. It’s more the situation an album
like this puts me in: I have to write
something well thought-out about
something that little thought went into.
But wait a second, whaddayou care
if I’rr pissed 7 Well, you don't and you
shouldn't But here I am taking it oui on
you. wasting your time What a manip
ulative prick It’s self-indulgent and
stupid and grossly unoriginal and I
should probably quit while I'm ahead
But then again it didn't stop Senor
Coconut, eh?
Medium and goofy pseudonyms
aside, the only real difference between
me and Sefior Coconut is this: I get the
feeling he's genuinely enjoying himself,
whereas it just makes me lonely Oh.
poor guy. (102 Robinson St.. LA, CA
90026)
Paul Killebrew
DON DIXON
The Invisible Man
Gadfly
The Invisible Man is one of the
most fitting and ironic titles one could
give a Don Dixon album Despite
recording a string of fine albums in the
80s and early '90s (including FEE.
Romeo At Julliard and Most 01 The
Girls Like To Dance But Only Some 01
The Boys Like To) and producing such
notable albums as The Smithereens’
Especially For You. Marshall
Crenshaw’s Mary Jean And 9 Others
and Marti Jones' Used Guitars. Dixon
remains one of the most underappreci
ated pop craftsmen going.
His first studio release in five yeors
finds Dixon in typically fine form He
draws from a similar range of influ
ences. and for much of the disc,
emphasizes tightly constructed, likable
tunes He deftly blends Memphis soul
and hooky pop on ‘Digging A Grave*
and “Invisible & Free;’ draws from new
wave-ish pop on the peppy organ-
fueled ’Tax The Churches;* offers a
taste of winsome pop on ‘Do So We! 1 ;’
and takes a folkier pop slant on
‘Decline & Fall" and ‘Then I Woke
Up*
But Dixon also shows 3 more
experimental side on The invisible
Man—a situation that yields mixed
results. ‘High Night For The Tide’
stands as something of a mini pop
opera with shifting movements and
laveied vocals. Iti ambitious, but it
''ever jells into a fully formed song
Instead, it sounds more like an assem
blage of fragmented ideas and sound-
scapes
“Wny Do Ci.Jdren Have To Die’ is
an attempt at hymn-like pop that lacks
any semblance of melody More suc
cessful is “All I Wanted.’ a concise
tune that takes a pithy look at a
person's conflicted ambitions. This
song puts its murky production to fine
use
The failed experiments do side
track some of the momentum of The
Invisible Man But when Dixon sticks
to his strengths—the kind of concise,
tuneful songs that populate most of
this album—he shows why he
deserves much more visibility and
attention for his considerable gifts as a
songwriter and recording artist. (P 0
Box 5231. Burlington. VT 05402)
Alan Sculley
K.tV V;»U*rl;.M!
STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN &
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Blues at Sunrise
Eptc/Legacy
E«en as we approach the 10-year
anniversary of his unti.nely demise
Stevie Ray Vaughan still casts a long
shadow over the world of biues-rock
guitar Hets still the standard that young
pups like Johnny Lang and Kenny
Wayne Shepherd are measured by and
ultimately fall short ol. He's still the
gateway for a great number of people
who re interested in digging into the
olues and use SRVs influences,
Freddie King and Albert King, as a
launching point And he's still one of
the best by God guitar stingers That
ever strapped on a Stratocaster to dud
the blues. His legacy endures with two
recently released greatest-hits compi
lations. the live Carnegie Hall album
from 1997. and now with a new compi
lation. Blues At Sunnse.
As a compilation, the concept of
Blues At Sunnse is at the same time
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