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Pizzicato Five is a Japanese band who gained some success in the USA when some of their songs appeared on soundtracks and in TV shows. I first heard them in the movie, "Ready To Wear" a Robert Altman film. 'Twiggy Twiggy' is played during Issey Miyake's fashion show. I really like the sound of the tune and eventually tracked down the group.
The sound of this band is retro but in an interesting way. If you take pop music from the sixties hipster scene and released brand new material today you'd have this band. Other groups have done similar things mostly using the style and imagery of this time period with new music. Bands like Deee-lite and The Chemical Brothers, but though those other groups only incorporate elements of the 60s sound, Pizzicato Five blend it completely with modern equipment to make something new and innovative.
There are lots of great tracks on this disc, which isn't surprising when you consider it's actually a compilation of their previous Japanese releases. Each track is fairly strong and catchy. If not avant garde. 'I' musically sounds like a French street musician standing beside an outdoor cafe playing the accordion for Francs. 'Sweet Soul Revue' captures the musical feel of the Motown era. My favorite tracks are 'Catchy', 'Twiggy Twiggy' and 'Magic Carpet Ride'.
I've never been a huge fan of modern Asian culture. Anime, Manga, Retro Bands... But for some reason, I really dig what this band accomplished. I was disappointed to hear they'd broken up. I'd have liked to see them in concert. Irregardless, this is a group worth checking out. It good clean fun for the whole family. My final word: NIFTY.
PIZZICATO FIVE - MADE IN USA
01. I
02. Sweet Soul Revue
03. Magic Carpet Ride
04. Readymade FM
05. Baby Love Child
06. Twiggy Twiggy/Twiggy Vs. James Bond
07. This Years Girl #2
08. I Wanna Be Like You
09. Go Go Dancer
10. Catchy
11. Peace Music
I heard about The Detroit Cobras on NPR when Fresh Air did a review of this record. I liked one of the tracks I heard and looked for it online. But no luck. The local record store owner and I were talking about it and she said if I bought it and didn't like it, she'd buy it back from me full price. So I bought it.
At first listen, this isn't your typical rock band in any way. They seem to come from the same circle of local bands that produced such acts as Electric Six and the White Stripes. They basically update old rock 'n' roll covers. Since I'm not familiar with most of the original material, the majority sounds new and fresh to me. The songs are quite engaging, catchy and have an alternative punk sensibility to them.
The only odd thing is the nature of the tunes. Some of these songs seem outdated like 'Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand'. You just don't imagine people walking around holding hands anymore. Even though I recently dated someone and holding hands was one of the most intimate expressions in that setting. It was incredible. 'Weak Spot' and 'Hot Dog (Watch Me Eat)' are two of my favorite tracks. 'Weak Spot' is extremely tender and sensitive. I think the tune is sweetly romantic and quite expressive. 'Hot Dog' is more funny and enjoyable for other reasons. It could be worth the purchase price alone.
'Everybody's Going Wild' reminds me of 60s go-go dancers. It has that rolling beat to it. 'Cha Cha Twist' is also pleasing. A very strong rhythm. As an added bonus, you can view the multimedia file of the 'Cha Cha Twist' video. The actual appearance of the band is somewhat shocking and different from the music. But they're still an exciting band. There's some rockabilly sounds here too. Would you call this group a greaser band? Probably if they dressed more sensibly. Live, they look more like a Vegas lounge act with leopard prints and hooker boots.
In the grand tradition of early rock 'n' roll, each song clocks in somewhere between 2 and 3 minutes. Even then, it's an enjoyable experience and well worth the listen. If you like some good rock every now and again, this album will come in handy. I've been thinking about tracking down the history of these tracks and finding out where they all came from. But that's an undertaking I don't have time for. Maybe in the future. Check out The Detroit Cobras. They rock! My final words: OLD SCHOOL ROCKS!
THE DETROIT COBRAS - BABY.
01. Slipping Around
02. I Wanna Holler (But The Town's Too Small)
03. Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand
04. Weak Spot
05. Everybody's Going Wild
06. Hot Dog (Watch Me Eat)
07. Mean Man
08. Now You're Gone
09. It's Raining
10. Just Can't Please You
11. The Real Thing
12. Baby Help Me
13. Cha Cha Twist
14. Ya Ya Ya (Looking For My Baby)
15. My Baby Loves The Secret Agent
16. Heartbeat
17. You Don't Knock
18. Silver & Gold (When I Get Like This)
19. 99 And A Half Just Won't Do
20. Insane Asylum
When I think of the Electric Six one word comes to mind... Inappropriate! These adult frat boys rock the scene with music that is politically challenging, cynical and altogether crass. 'Dance Commander' appeared in the Disney sport flick "Stick It" while 'Danger! High Voltage' appeared in one of the Charlie's Angels movies. That's where I discovered the band. I put two and two together and realized they were the same band. It didn't take me long to track down this disc and buy it. I actually had to special order it in. The local record stores didn't carry it. What a shock. But once I got the disc in the truck I fell in instant love.
Dick Valentine goes out of his way to write lyrics offensive to everyone. He steps on toes, crosses boundaries and shows little or no regard for social labeling or socially acceptable behavior. It's utterly brilliant! Also present is Jack White from the White Stripes. He sings the female lead on 'Danger! High Voltage'. Which makes this song important to Stripes fans.
Most of these songs demonstrate Valentine's rebel nature. Consider 'Gay Bar'... He wants to take his girlfriend to a gay bar because he's excited by the idea of fooling around there. He chooses a setting most people would find unacceptable and then champions behavior completely unacceptable in that setting. In other words, he's inappropriate in inappropriate places. Is nothing sacred?
I also love 'I'm The Bomb'. What an amusing little ditty. So many excellent tracks to point out and discuss. But I won't get all crazy with that here. I'm way too into what's happening overall with this band. Very exciting.
I'm drawn to them by the interesting blend of musical styles. There's disco, funky, rock, new wave, some Latin jazz, blues and metal... It seems to be the duty of this band to bastardize any and all genres of music to further their own egotistical view of rock 'n' roll. It's dynamic, exciting and incredibly fun to listen to. Not to mention the humorous and interesting videos... This band makes me wanna watch MTV, (well if they showed videos again). It's been a long time since an artist made me wanna see videos.
I'm hooked and looking forward to hearing more from the Six. Run, don't walk, to the local store and pick up 'Fire'. You'll be rocking out by sundown. My final word: TASTY.
ELECTRIC SIX - FIRE
01. Dance Commander
02. Electric Demons In Love
03. Naked Pictures (Of Your Mother)
04. Danger! High Voltage
05. She's White
06. I Invented The Night
07. Improper Dancing
08. Gay Bar
09. Nuclear War (On The Dance Floor)
10. Getting Into The Jam
11. Vengeance And Fashion
12. I'm The Bomb
13. Synthesizer
Why did I purchase this disc? Good question, easy answer. Basically, Wendy & Lisa were working on this album with her and I needed it for my Wendy & Lisa collection. But I was amazed by the intensity and range of k.d. lang herself. This is a concept album. Don't let the name or cover photograph fool ya. k.d appears on the cover and all subsequent photographs wearing mens clothing. She is a female doing male drag. Yes, believe it or not, there are such things as Drag Kings. But to give the album a double meaning, all the songs deal with cigarette smoking and the cover photograph shows Lang in a suggestive pose holding an imaginary cigarette.
All of the songs are covers and in one way or another contain references to smoking. Although the tracks Lisa and Wendy play on are interesting and unique, I found many others that were just as exciting and diverting. She really shines here. Lang has a smokey lounge singer voice and interprets these classics with a mixture of jazz, r&b, country and soul. It's quite revolutionary in many ways.
Though I don't normally ascribe to following singers, Lang has given me every reason to pick up more material and discover not only a voice but a mind and a philosophy toward musical discovery. No wonder Lisa & Wendy wanted to work with her. Classic disc. A welcome addition to any collection and well worth owning. My final word: INSPIRED.
K.D. LANG - DRAG
01. Don't Smoke In Bed
02. The Air That I Breathe
03. Smoke Dreams
04. My Last Cigarette
05. The Joker
06. Theme From The Valley Of The Dolls
07. Your Smoke Screen
08. My Old Addiction
09. Till The Heart Caves In
10. Smoke Rings
11. Hain't It Funny
12. Love Is Like A Cigarette
Oddly enough, I'd never heard of Kid Creole before this album. Even though he had a huge club hit earlier in the 80s called 'Endicott' or something like that. Irregardless, this is another cd I bought for one song. A Prince song. He contributes a song making this useless disc another must have in my library.
Kid Creole is something of an enigma. His calypso sound is somewhere between Reggae, Latin Beats and Carnival. He's definitely Caribbean via New Orleans, but it's not a sound I'm partial to. I appreciate the work, but feel little draw to it otherwise. Certain songs are interesting and have value on their own, but overall, 'Waters' sounds more like a geriatric hard-on looking for debutante tits at Mardi Gras.
The Prince track is quite funky and upbeat. Creole's animated vocals serve to enhance the track and would have been suited to more contributions from the purple one. 'The Sex Of It' is easily the highlight of this release. It's a catch 22. If you're a fan of Creole, you probably hate the song... But those who like Prince won't enjoy the other 12 songs. Interestingly enough, both men are similar in stature and seem to share an obsession with women. This song has seen release on other formats and if you can find it on one of those, you'll probably be better off than spending the amount on this disc. My final word: USELESS.
KID CREOLE AND THE COCONUTS - PRIVATE WATERS IN THE GREAT DIVIDE
01. I Love Girls
02. (No More) Casual Sex
03. The Sex Of It
04. Cory's Song
05. Dr. Paradise
06. Takin' A Holiday
07. Lambada
08. Funky Audrey And The Coconut Rag
09. When Lucy Does The Boomerang
10. He's Takin' The Rap
11. Pardon My Appearance
12. Laughing With Our Backs Against The Wall
13. My Love
I was living in Switzerland when this disc came out. I wasn't sure I'd even find it there as it was in an American magazine I learned of it. I originally bought it because it had a Prince track on it, but I quickly moved past my motivation and embraced the disc. Though not a strong vocalist, Mica has an interesting voice and knows how to showcase it in the best possible way. The record features some interesting and exciting songwriting. I've not heard most of the contributors before or since, but I quite like what they did here. 'Contribution' is an anthem of sorts and should have been a single. Most of the tracks on here have a Soul II Soul sound. Those urban drum beats highly typical of the late 80s early 90s are strongly present. The Prince song is quite interesting though somewhat subdued compared to the rest of the music. And yet, 'If I Love U 2 Nite' fits in nicely with the flow of the record while simultaneously maintaining its identity as a Prince composition. The track was later recorded by Prince's first wife, Mayte on her solo disc for NPG Records.
The Smokey Robinson cover is also an outstanding cut. It's very exciting arrangement helps move the album forward with a number of stand-out tracks. 'You Can Make A Wish' and 'Just Make Me The One' are among the many amazing songs. The only downside is the socially conscious track 'Who Can We Blame'. Even though it's a reflective tune based on highlighting awareness on social indifference, it ends up sounding more like a whine than proclamation. The closing track, 'One World' is essentially a reprise of 'Contribution' this time being performed by a gospel choir complete with whoops and shouts of praise. A fulfilling conclusion. Rakim donates the rap in the opening track but doesn't appear on the rest of the disc.
The final word is great disc by an exciting artist who has lots of potential and recorded a lovely disc. Not sure what's happened to her. I'll have to pull her up on Wikipedia and read up. One thing I'd like to mention... This disc has a strong European sound to it. It's almost typical British pop, but satisfying in the round. Well Worth the effort to track down. My final word: GROOVY.
MICA PARIS - CONTRIBUTION
01. Contribution
02. South Of The River
03. If I Love U 2 Nite
04. Just To Be With You
05. Take Me Away
06. Truth & Honesty
07. Deep Afrika
08. More Love
09. You Can Make A Wish
10. Just Make Me The One
11. I Can't Stop Loving You
12. I've Been Watching You
13. Who Can We Blame
14. One World
I know what you're thinking... Why on earth would I have a Kenny Rogers cd in my collection???!!! Right? Well, the answer is sadly quite simple. Believe it or not, Prince wrote a song for Kenny on this disc. Of course to avoid any awkwardness on either side, he used a pseudonym. Regardless, my relentless pursuit of Prince music inspired this purchase.
I realize I'm missing something when it comes to Rogers. I seem to miss out on that something with most vocalists. I just don't understand how people can fanatically follow an artist based solely on their vocal delivery. Of course I have a couple artists I'm interested in who are considered vocalists. One is Alison Krauss. She doesn't write any original material and yet I find the way she and her band arrange the music is quite phenomenal. Songs I wouldn't normally give a second glance receive attention after she performs them. Not so with Kenny.
In all fairness to his fame, I've given the disc an impartial listen. I listened all the way through... more than once. Maybe it's the generic arrangements, but nothing stands out. Even the Prince track is lackluster. Of course the instrumentation is arranged and performed by Rogers' producers and features no input from Prince whatsoever. Still, the song has more momentum and drive for a mid tempo ballad than any other track on the disc. Rogers enlisted the aid of other popular songwriters on this project. Michael Bolton and Burt Bacharach contributed songs. Sadly, none of them really live up the reputations of their authors. 'Anything At All' has potential but in this case, falls rather flat. You can check out the interesting background vocals by El DeBarge on the Prince number, 'You're My Love'.
My final word: YIKES. Aside from the Prince track, there's nothing worth mentioning about this boring record unless you enjoy mediocre 80s filler pop. Rogers himself once sung, "You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away and know when to run."
My advice? Run.
KENNY ROGERS - THEY DON'T MAKE THEM LIKE THEY USED TO
01. This Love We Share
02. If I Could Hold On To Love
03. You're My Love
04. Time For Love
05. They Don't Make Them Like They Used To
06. Life Is Good, Love Is Better
07. Just The Thought Of Losing You
08. Anything At All
09. After All This Time
10. Twenty Years Ago
