CD Odyssey Disc 222: Eurythmics

With the holidays upon us I've had very little need to drive for any length of time, and I haven't done much painting either. Since these are the only two activities permitted for CD Odyssey listening (and those, only when alone), it took a while to get through this album.

That said - here it is. The final review of 2010.

Disc 222 is...Savage
Artist: The Eurythmics

Year of Release: 1987

What’s Up With The Cover?: Yet more proof that Annie Lennox is the sexiest woman ever to wear a wig.

How I Came To Know It: I knew the Eurythmics from radio play and high school dances, but as I mentioned in my review for "Revenge" back at Disc 118, I heard the full album over at my buddy Curt's place back when it came out. Sheila also has this record on vinyl, where we recently listened to it in that format as well, which only made it better.

How It Stacks Up: I have all five of the Eurythmics albums, and I like all of them. "Savage" is one of my favourites. I'd say it is probably 2nd, just edging out "We Too Are One" for the silver.

Rating: 4 stars.

The Eurythmics are a band that I love from a genre - electronic pop - that I usually detest. But good music is good music, regardless of genre. In fact, even though this album has all that synthetic eighties sounding production, I wouldn't change a thing. In fact, the production is one of the strengths of "Savage", drum machines and all.

This is noticeable from the first track, "Beethoven (I Love To Listen To)" which starts out with just a basic drum machine beat. Then, Annie Lennox's voice is introduced just chanting "listen to, listen to" over and over again in that sort of robotic-siren voice we know from "Sweet Dreams". Then another line fragment, "I love to", is overlayed just in front, this time utilizing her full rich tones we know from something like "You Have Placed a Chill on My Heart". Then a quick almost saucy singing of the word "Beethoven" completes the line, tripping in a half-beat early. By the time all the elements come together into the one line chorus, "I love to listen to Beethoven", the song is alreadly half over. It may take its time getting there, but it knows where it is going from the very beginning.

The hits on this record "You Have Placed a Chill On My Heart" and "I Need A Man" are two of my favourite Eurythmics songs, and demonstrate the band's range at this stage of their career. The former is a sorrowful bluesy breakup song, the latter is a rock-driven raunchy sex track. Both are delivered with the same care of song construction first heard in "Beethoven".

This is a record that makes me want to dance, but that I also enjoy it when I'm mellowing out and just lounging (thank you, Guru). Between them, the twelve tracks have a good range of sound, and even within individual songs there are changeups that keep your senses interested. It is an album that is easy on the ears, without just being radio pablum.

"Savage" is a winner. If all you have is "Sweet Dreams" this would be a good next step. If all you have is "Greatest Hits" then I am very sorry for you - you're missing out on great tracks like "Beethoven (I Love To Listen To)", "Shame" and "I Need You" - and those are just off this album. Just think what you're missing from the other four?

Best tracks: Beethoven (I Love To Listen To), You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart, Shame, Savage, I Need a Man, I Need You

CD Odyssey Disc 221: Elton John

Sometimes the Odyssey can be jarring to the ear. I never know what to expect, so I can't be prepared for whatever style of music is coming up. Right when I've got my ear tuned to hard rock, I'll get disco, or pop, or something else.

That was the case with this record, which sounded very alien for the first six songs or so, but by the time I'd finished a second listen was not only making sense, but surprising me with how good it sounded.

Disc 221 is...Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only the Piano Player

Artist: Elton John

Year of Release: 1973

What’s Up With The Cover?: A staged shot to make the album seem like it is actually a movie playing at the local cinema. I think this is one of those covers that benefits from being larger on the original vinyl. In this size, it doesn't impress.

How I Came To Know It: While I know the hits off this record, I've never been an Elton John fan. A few years back Sheila got into his early records pretty heavily and she bought this one - so I know it through her.

How It Stacks Up: We have four Elton John albums - all from early in his career (nothing past 1973), and one Greatest Hits album. Of the four studio albums, I would say "Don't Shoot Me..." is the best, or at least tied for the best.

Rating: 4 stars.

I didn't expect much from this record when I rolled it, and after sitting through three listens of Boney M, I wasn't feeling very adventurous. For this reason, it turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

"Don't Shoot Me..." was the first of five straight #1 albums for Elton John - it was released in January 1973 - the same year as the much more famous "Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road". I think it stands as strong as that album, and moreover it benefits from not being so padded with extra songs, the original release having only ten tracks. Our version is the remastered version where once again some soulless record exec has added four bonus tracks I could mostly live without. Counting those tracks, I'd drop the rating for the record to three stars, but I've decided to give Elton a pass on this, and just focus on the ten original songs.

Listening to this album, I was struck with how talented Elton John is at composing a song. Some of these songs are a little too dressed up (I think I heard a gratuitous sitar more than once) but it is never to the point of ruining the production.

Standouts for me include "Daniel", a sorrowful song of parting that was rightfully a hit, and "Blues For My Baby and Me", which is one track where some additional production (in this case some well-placed violins) beautifully augment a very well constructed song telling the story of a young couple striking out on their own, against the wishes of their parents.

As usual, Bernie Taupin's lyrics perfectly match Elton John's music - if you've heard the songs with Elton John writing the lyrics ("Razor Face" and "Peaches" come to mind) you'll know how important Taupin is to his success.

My favourite song on this record is a great example - "Texan Love Song". It is a satirical take on a Texan redneck upset with hippie types coming to town and dating the local girls. It is hardly a love song - more a hate song if anything:

"How dare you sit there and drink all our beer
Oh it's made for us workers who sweat spit and swear
The minds of our daughters are poisoned by you
With your communistic politics and them negro blues

Well I'm gonna quit talking and take action now
Run all of you fairies clean out of this town
Oh I'm dog tired of watching you mess up our lives
Spending the summertime naturally high"

This song has a stripped-down western feel which suits it perfectly, and it is Taupin doing what I think he does best; building great characters, and then letting them reveal themselves in their own words. It isn't "From The Inside" level stuff, but it is good.

I'll never be a big Elton John fan, but I can't deny this is a strong album, and it has improved my outlook on the records still to come.

Best tracks: Daniel, Blues For My Baby and Me, Texan Love Song, High Flying Bird

CD Odyssey Disc 220: Boney M

Because of a hectic Thursday last week, and then a four day trip to Miami, I had to keep this next CD in the car a lot longer than I had planned. Ironically, with Christmas approaching, this is one of the few discs we have that features actual Christmas music - selections from this band's infamous "Christmas album". This is not a good thing, however.

Disc 220 is...20 Super Hits
Artist: Boney M

Year of Release: 1992, but with music from 1975 through 1979

What’s Up With The Cover?: A picture of the band, dressed perfectly normally - if you're from Betelgeuse, that is. This picture also confirms that if you work hard enough at it, you can in fact, put a part in an afro. It also confirms you shouldn't.

How I Came To Know It: I was born in 1970. In my early years, Boney M was seriously popular on AM radio.

How It Stacks Up: Although not-so-cleverly disguised as "20 Super Hits" this is, in fact, a 'best of' album, and therefore can't stack up.

Rating: It is a best of, so no rating.

Our first foray into disco is one of the all-time favourites of that genre, Boney M. As I noted above, these guys were a big deal in the 70s, and made a lot of money for Svengali producer and all-round music thief, Frank Farian (who would later reward us by spending some of this dough unleashing Milli Vanilli on the world).

I despise everything Frank Farian stands for in the music industry, but I can't deny the guy has the ability to figure out just what combination of styles is guaranteed to make a 'super hit' in a given time in music.

In Boney M's case, that mix is the 70s biggest thing, disco, freshened up with some caribbean reggae. As ever, a liberal coating of pop helps everything go down easily with the masses.

While I'm as guilty as anyone at having danced with gay abandon to Boney M, I didn't find this album enjoyable this time around. I know I should just accept it for what it is; syrupy dance music, designed for turning the brain off, and the body on. It is just that its vacuousness is so vast, no amount of sweet filling can counter the artistic void it creates.

One of their most famous songs, "Rivers of Babylon", isn't even an original. It is competent enough cover, until you hear the original by the Melodians. As for "Rivers of Babylon" remakes, I'll take Steve Earle's sorrowful stripped down version from "Sidetracks" any day. Boney M's might have a good dance beat, but the production strips all of the original religious gravitas from the song.

The remake of Bob Marley's "No Woman No Cry" goes several steps further to the bad; it is an abomination so offensive it had me silently calling for new laws to punish the perpetrators for recording it.

I was even more horrified by one of the obscure 'super hits' on the record - "Still I'm Sad". This song is a complete rip off of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," for which no credit is given. I'm not sure if Boney M thought they could get away with it, or just didn't care. The part they take is not the 'oweemaway oweemaway' part, but rather the 'In the jungle/the mighty jungle/the lion sleeps tonight" part.

Those lyrics are replaced in "Still I'm Sad" with this little gem:

"See the stars come joining down from the sky."

What the hell? Anyway, if these seem overly obtuse, be thankful. When given a specific topic, like in the biographical "El Lute", the results are worse. Here's how that little gem begins:

"He was only 19 and was sentenced to die
For something that somebody else did
And blamed on El Lute.
Then they changed it to life and so he could escape
From then on they chased him
and searched for him all over Spain"

It reads like a book report written by an eight year old.

Lest you think this review will be all bad, I must now give credit where credit is due - that being to one of the greatest five star dance songs ever written. A song so awesome that I once sprained my thumb after it inspired me to do a Russian folk dance after one too many rum and cokes: "Rasputin".

Here, I could care less how historically accurate this song is (let's say 50%), the song rules, and decades after it was first released, it is still played at night clubs. That is impressive.

"Rasputin" and few other songs like "Daddy Cool" that have a solid disco beat that don't get too pretentious are what saves this little compilation from the scrap heap.

Just don't play "Nightflight to Venus" too soon after "Rasputin." If you do you'll realize that Frank Farian's kleptomania is so complete, he will even rip himself off when he gets desperate enough for a hit.

Best tracks: Rasputin, Daddy Cool

CD Odyssey Disc 219: Rankin Family

Thor is a hard act to follow, so perhaps it is fitting that the Odyssey went from a grandiose attempt at a metal concept album to an understated folk EP.

Disc 219 is...Grey Dusk of Eve
Artist: Rankin Family

Year of Release: 1995

What’s Up With The Cover?: I don't know. It is a tasteful bit of photography and design though. Very beautiful and understated. It gives me a nice sense of calm and introspection, a lot like this record.

How I Came To Know It: I have been a fan of the Rankin Family since I bought their "Fare Thee Well Love" album in 1990. "Grey Dusk of Eve" was just me buying their latest offering.

How It Stacks Up: Including this album, I have six Rankin Family albums, which discounting Christmas records, compilations and live shows, is all of them. Even though this is only a five song EP, it holds its own, and I'll put it third out of six.

Rating: 4 stars.

As long-time readers of this blog will know, I am not keen on records with too many songs - in my opinion fourteen is pushing the upper limit. For an EP, that top limit should be five, so "Grey Dusk of Eve" is suitably restrained. In a way, it is too bad, because I really like this album's feel, and found myself wishing for a few more. I also like that these EP tracks aren't just remarketed later on another album - they are a unique offering unto themselves.

This album gives a sampling of everything good about the Rankin Family. The first track, "Grey Dusk of Eve (Portobello)" is actually a reworking of a song on 1993's North Country called "Leis an Lurgainn", which I believe is a song in praise of a boat that takes a sailor through some rough weather. While I prefer the original version, I like this reimagining as well.

The album also has a wonderful fiddle medley, another song featuring the beautiful harmonies of the Rankin sisters and even fits in a Gaelic love-song called "An Teid Thu Leam A Mhairi" or "Will You Go With Me Mary". Spoiler alert - at first she won't, but then she will. I suspect this song is chiefly to show off Heather Rankin's vocals, but what I noticed on this listen was John Morris Rankin's understated but deeply heartfelt piano playing.

John Morris is one hell of a folk pianist, the more so that he never took centre stage, but always let his siblings shine. He was the glue that held the band together, and I will always regret his untimely death in a winter car accident many years ago.

All this praise aside, the one song on this record that will always stand out for me is one of my favourite Rankin Family songs (and one of my favourite folk songs of all time), the Jimmy Rankin original, "The Ballad of Malcolm Murray".

The song tells the story of a friend of Jimmy Rankin's youth - an outdoorsman, perhaps a little rough around the edges, who meets his untimely death in the woods- although how is never described.

This song shows the greatness of Jimmy Rankin - while part of the Rankin Family charm is their homage to Atlantic folk traditions, it is Jimmy that is always pushing their limits, and I have been a fan of his solo career in more recent years.

"The Ballad of Malcolm Murray" is Jimmy Rankin at his best - his voice full of soulful yearning, spinning the story of a man that helped shape his life. The song is short, simple, to the point and perfect. It is five star folk. Since it is so short, I'll just share the lyrics with you right here:

"Stood alone there, out on the highway.
In the blackness, on his own.
Through the wind, rain and fury
'Folds the story of Malcolm Murray

Not an evil bone in his body,
Not a bad thought in his mind
Always drifting, home to home
To everybody he was kind

Was a hunter and a drinker
A simple life his only care
You could find him out on the backroad
Or in a tavern, alone somewhere.

Heard one day, that he'd been missing
Gone out hunting, did not return.
The sky turned cloudy, the wind grew still
For his poor soul, my heart yearned

Found him lying, in the mountains
By a stream where he loved to be
Lost a good friend and a good man
Say farewell to Malcolm Murray

It's been said, out on the backroad.
There's a shadow by the light of the moon
Never fear, never worry,
It's just the memory of Malcolm Murray.

Stood alone there out on the highway.
In the blackness, on his own"

This song always makes me think of my brother - himself a rugged outdoorsman - and because it sings of Murray's death I'm not ashamed to say it sometimes has me tearing up a bit at the thought. If anyone is safe in British Columbia's wild spaces it is my brother, but I'd be lying if I didn't sometimes worry about him - maybe he thinks the same of me in the city, although he'd never say. One thing is certain - if there is ever a zombie apocalypse, it is Virgil you want handy, not me.

It is 11:45 PM on December 14th, and in fifteen minutes it will be my brother's birthday. Happy Birthday, Virgil - I love you, man.

Best tracks: Grey Dusk of Eve, The Ballad of Malcolm Murray, Twin Fiddle Medley

CD Odyssey Disc 218: Thor

You know when something is so bad it's good? Well, if not, you soon will have an example. OK, maybe so bad it's average?

This next review is a treasure trove of the ridiculous - I could probably start a whole new blog solely dedicated to the lyrics alone, but in the interests of brevity I'll just hit some high points a little later on.

Disc 218 is...Triumphant
Artist: Thor

Year of Release: 2003

What’s Up With The Cover?: A near-naked warrior takes a moment out from fighting some primitive screwheads to strike a saucy pose. This guy's helmet looks very protective, but he might've given some thought to having some other form of protection beyond his belt of skulls. Or maybe his belt of skulls is designed to help him blend in with his surroundings - I see a skull in the foreground, and the mountain in the background is shaped like a skull as well.

This painting is by a guy named Mike Hoffman, and although not artistically inspiring he has managed to create a little magic after all; it is causing Frank Frazetta to spin in his grave.

How I Came To Know It: I saw a video for a Thor song back in the early eighties called "Keep The Dogs Away" which I thought pretty awesome at the time. I've never seen any of Thor's eighties records on CD, so I bought this much later entry out of nostalgia.

How It Stacks Up: I have three Thor albums, this one, a collaboration with D.O.A. and 1985's "Only The Strong". Technically, "Only The Strong" is not an original album - my buddy Chris used a computer program years ago to transfer it from vinyl.

Imagine my excitement when I visited Thor's website to find that "Only The Strong" has been released on CD this year as the "25th Anniversary Printing". Soon, it shall be mine - as soon as I decide if I can trust thorcentral.com with my visa number.

Anyway, of these three albums, I'm putting "Triumphant" a distant third.

Rating: 2 stars.

Thor is a Canadian metal artist that goes back all the way to the late seventies. He is also a body builder who's show used to feature a sort of hard core variety show of heavy metal music, and Thor doing feats of strength. Among these, he would: blow up a hot water bottle; bend a metal bar in his teeth and; smash bricks on his chest. I've seen him do the first two on MuchMusic's Power Hour, and thought it exceedingly cool at the time.

He also used to do interviews as if he were actually "Thor" as in - the Norse God of Thunder. Again, I thought that was pretty cool at the time.

When I was fifteen I loved Thor's music, but "Triumphant" is...er...not his best work. It sounds very much like an artist that hasn't grown very much, and is still doing the same schtick. In fact, this album even features a reworked version of "Thunder on the Tundra", which originally appears on "Only the Strong". However, if you're going to do a fantasy "Thunder God" schtick, you should go all out, and Thor certainly does.

The music is basically straight ahead heavy metal. Just imagine eighties metal never changed - there was never hair metal, never grunge, never death or speed or thrash or black metal - just straight ahead mid-eighties metal. Musically, that's all you need to know.

I'm not sure what to include and what to exclude from this review. I thought maybe I'd start by saying it includes a song written for Fubar: The Movie, because that seemed the most illustrative point I could make. The song, "Fubar is a Super Rocker", doesn't seem to be written with any ironic intent. However, this fact alone doesn't really do the record's excesses justice.

So then I thought I'd just include some of the song titles as a sort of short-hand of what to expect like "The Guardian's Flame Opus" (in 3 parts) or "Throwing Cars at People On Coke With Thor" but even this didn't quite fully express how far this album goes.

So I decided to focus on the fact that this album appears to principally be an attempt to do a concept album or soundtrack for something called "The Intercessor" which the sleeve advertises as a "movie & CD coming soon." I could try to explain just what "The Intercessor" is about, but I'm pretty sure nothing will do justice to the liner notes in Thor's own words, so here they are without edit:

"It is the year 2045...After the great apocalypse...The continent of Norway had broken away from its foundation causing a collision and hence melding with North America. A strange new land had arisen. A land where mutation thrives and demons roam and of demi-Gods. A mighty North American Viking-Warrior stood tall...who battled demons and mutants and those attacking from other planets...His quest to save the planet and destroy those opposing the "Metal Avenger" came to an end when he sacrificed himself to save others and was killed in battle...Many years later in the year 2965 the Soul and Warrior Life Form of the "Metal Avenger" returns as the INTERCESSOR..."

Still confused? I'm not sure how you could be, but for a more artistic expression of our protagonist's motivation, consider these telling lines from "Back For Blood":

"Lightning strikes twice, but so do volcanoes
Of men and mice - I'm a twister, I'm a raging tornado
I'm back, I'm back, I'm back for blood
Get the soap, wash your mouth out with suds
I'm back, I'm back, I'm back I say
Now's the time for you to pay."

And at this, I am speechless. I could, in the immortal words of Fubar's Deaner ask Thor to "turn up the good, turn down the suck!" but I think doing so would just ruin it. So instead, I'm going to add an extra star for Thor just because years later he is still keepin' on Given'r.

Tracks that most giv'r: I Am Thor, Triumphant, Back For Blood,

CD Odyssey Disc 217: KISS

The latest roll on the Odyssey was a very short album, and so I was through it in a single drive home. It is yet another KISS album - and here it is!

Disc 217 is...Rock and Roll Over
Artist: KISS

Year of Release: 1976

What’s Up With The Cover?: The faces of the band done into a bit of circular art. This would look good spinning on a turntable, which as we all know, was the style at the time.

How I Came To Know It: Although this album came out the same year as "Destroyer" which I bought right away, at the age of six my purchasing power was a tad limited. I didn't actually own this album until much later - and then only on CD. I think I bought this in the early to mid-nineties while rounding out my early KISS collection.

How It Stacks Up: I have eleven KISS albums, which includes two of four solo efforts. Of the eleven, "Rock and Roll Over" is not my favourite, and falls in the bottom half. I'd say around 7th or 8th depending on how I'm feeling about "Hotter Than Hell" at the time. For those keeping track and remembering how I also said "The Elder" was 7th or 8th back at Disc 55, congratulations - you're very thorough. I'll bump the elder down to 9th - I can do that, since it's my Odyssey.

Rating: 3 stars.

"Rock and Roll Over" is a pretty straightforward seventies rock album. The songs are all very short, with nothing longer than 3:46. They are tight little numbers, heavily dependent on their hooks.

This is OK, because the hooks are pretty good. Also, as lyrics go, this is KISS at their most ridiculous, lascivious best. Most of the songs seem to be variants about having sex with groupies. Hey - first rule of writing is stick with what you know.

Some favourite lines include these from "Ladies Room"

"Put your hand in my pocket
Grab onto my rocket."

and these from "Ladies Room"

"You're such a jewel in the rough
You wanna show me your stuff
For my money, you can't be too soon.
Meet meet you in the ladies' room."

While these lines are pretty good for a laugh, the songs are good, although nothing on par with what they accomplished later in the year on "Destroyer". Of note, there are at least two songs ("Calling Dr. Love" and "Ladies Room") that prominently feature cowbell. I was shocked to find it wasn't produced by Bruce Dickinson.

Reluctantly setting aside their liberal use of cowbell, "Rock and Roll Over"'s production is a little too tinny for my tastes, but I'm not sure if it is the fault in the original tapes or just that it is the one KISS album that I don't have remastered. Either way, I find myself wishing the songs were just a little heavier sounding.

The one oddball track on this album is "Hard Luck Woman", which has a folk/rock sound that made me think (unpleasantly) of Rod Stewart songs from the same period. In fact, it made me think so strongly of Rod Stewart, I started to suspect it was a cover song.

When I looked it up I found out that KISS had written the song - in fact they had written it for Rod Stewart! When he didn't want it, they put it on this album, and apparently released it as a single which peaked at #15. Good for them, but to me this song stands out like a sore thumb on what is otherwise a pretty good rock record.

This isn't a must-have KISS record unless you are a completionist like me, but it is pretty good, and generally gives me a pleasant surprise when I decide to put it on.

Best tracks: I Want You, Take Me, Calling Dr. Love, Ladies Room

CD Odyssey Disc 216: Soundtrack

This next review is a guilty pleasure. One of those albums that if you're 'in the know' you love talking about it, and if you're not 'in the know' you could care less.

And now, the second straight soundtrack review.

Disc 216 is...Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More With Feeling

Artist: Original cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Year of Release: 2002

What’s Up With The Cover?: Um...not much. It is a cheesy artistic rendition of the show's three big stars (Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendan and Alyson Hannigan) and the villain from this particular episode (singer/dancer/actor - but name unimportant).

How I Came To Know It: I have been a devoted fan of the show since the first season, and got Sheila addicted by season three (I'd have had her earlier, but her job forced her to work evenings, and caused her to miss the original airings for a while). By season six, we were both nuts for the show, when this episode came out and blew our socks off. When I saw they released the music on disc, I bought it without hesitation.

How It Stacks Up: As you'll know by now, I have around 23 soundtracks/musicals. This is kind of both. I really like this one, but I'll cool my enthusiasm enough to simply say it is 'top half'.

Rating: 3 stars.

As noted earlier, this is the soundtrack to a single episode of Season Six of the amazing Buffy The Vampire Slayer TV show. The basic plot is that Buffy's younger sister, Dawn, has stolen an artifact and inadvertently caused a demon to be summoned to earth that causes reality to become a musical. The side effect is that every now and then an innocent bystander gets so overtaken by the singing and dancing that they self-combust. Also, the demon is intent on marrying Dawn and taking her back to hell. Of course, our heroes must first recognize something is wrong (as in 'what's all this crazy singing all about?') and then put things to rights.

The plot also conveniently serves to make all the action happen in song and dance routines. As the characters Broadway their way through the scenes, a whole series of secrets kept by various characters are revealed. I won't mention them, but as our Musical Demon Foe sings near the end:

"What a lot of fun
You guys have been real swell
And there's not a one
Who can say this ended well
All those secrets you've been concealing
Say you're happy now
Once more with feeling."

I won't get into what all the secrets are, because if you are a Buffy devotee you already know; if you're not a Buffy devotee you don't care, and if you're just watching it for the first time, you don't want me to say at this critical point in your journey.

OK - enough with the plot, how was the music? Surprisingly good, thanks for asking. It is amazing how catchy a lot of these songs are musically, and they are written by Joss Whedon - just another facet of his genius. While most of them are only interesting in the context of the episode, some have an emotional resonance even when divorced from the narrative.

This is particularly true of Anthony Stewart Head singing "Standing", as he laments whether by protecting Buffy from the pressures of her calling, he is inadvertently stunting her growth. In this case her growth relates to slaying demons and vampires, but believe me it works on other levels as well.

Everyone on the cast has to sing, and some succeed better than others. The aforementioned Athony Stewart Head, who playes Buffy's "watcher" Giles is a standout, which isn't surprising given that he is Murray Head's brother (of "One Night In Bangkok" fame) and a minor folk artist in his previous life. Also excellent is Amber Benson, who plays the witch/girlfriend of Willow in the show has an amazing pop diva voice. Her character bores me in season six, but I can't deny the girl has pipes.

At the other end of the spectrum we have Alyson Hannigan, who might be a brilliant character actress (and comic genius), but is painfully tone deaf. Our star, Sarah Michelle Gellar isn't great either, but she is good enough and while her tone isn't always great, she's generally on key.

The songs all follow a general thread of self-doubt, coupled with the oft-employed theme of "we are stronger together than apart", a common theme of the show. It may be a well worn theme, but Whedon does it well, and these songs are genuinely clever, and as good or better as most of what you'll hear on top 40 radio on any given day.

There are many memorable lines, but they are principally memorable if you liked the show. I'll be indulgent and share one stanza from a section where the evil vampire, Spike, is trying to decide if he's going to help Buffy out. He's evil, but he has a thing for her:

"The torch I bear is scorching me
And Buffy's laughing I've no doubt
I hope she fries
I'm free if that bitch dies
- I better help her out."

If you love the series, this album is a must have. If you don't give a whit for the show, this record will not interest you. In terms of TV, it should have won an Emmy, but in a strange twist never even made it on the ballot. Another reason why the Emmys are the second-most pointless awards show in existence (First being the purview of the Grammys).

This was brave TV of its time, and some talented writing besides. Musically, this CD isn't for everyone, but if enjoying a little Buffy sing-a-long is wrong (and I'm fairly certain that it is) then I don't wanna be right.

Best tracks: I've Got A Theory, Rest In Peace, Standing, Walk Through Fire

CD Odyssey Disc 215: Soundtrack

On Friday Sheila and I went with friends Sherylyn and Joel to see Dan Mangan in concert. Dan Mangan is very cool live - he's a solid songwriter, and the show features much active encouragement for the audience to sing along - it feels great.

Before we went to the concert, Sherylyn cooked us all an incredible dinner. She is an amazing cook - as in 'could open her own restaurant' kind of good. So while the Odyssey didn't supply an album from the artist we went to see, it is fitting that it provided an album that is deeply related to the joy of good food.

Disc 215 is...Big Night Soundtrack

Artist: Various, but a lot of Louis Prima

Year of Release: 1996 but with music mostly from the fifties

What’s Up With The Cover?: It's a soundtrack so the cover is basically an extension of the movie poster. Here we have our four main characters arguing over food (this happens a lot in the movie).

How I Came To Know It: I saw the movie and liked the music, so the usual tale of the soundtrack.

How It Stacks Up: I have somewhere around 23 soundtracks (not including scores). I'd say this one is a bit on the weaker side - bottom third, but certainly not the worst.

Rating: 3 stars.

"Big Night" was a small movie which is basically a character study of two Italian brothers trying to make a go of it in the restaurant business in 1950s America (I think New York, but it's been a while since I've seen it). The brothers argue over how the restaurant should run, with one (played by Stanley Tucci) focused on making it a commercial success, and the other (played by Tony Shalhoub) unyielding in his interest in making the food of the highest quality.

Along the way, they find love (courtesy Minnie Driver and Juliette Binoche), have lots of arguments and get excited over a rumour that local music legend (and Italian-American icon) Louis Prima may be coming by for dinner at their restaurant. It sounds like a pretty lame plot when I spell it out, but it is actually a pretty good movie.

The music is full of 1950s swing and easy-listening jazz with the aforementioned Prima, his oft-paired musical partners Keely Smith and Sam Butera. This movie came out in the mid-nineties when swing was in full resurgence. I am sad to admit I gave in to what was fashionable at the time (in my defence - I discovered some pretty good music in the process).

"Big Night" is a classic example. As swing goes, I love the Prima/Butera/Smith gang, who were all contemporaries and often performed together. Alone or together, their music makes you feel like there is a great party going on, and you're invited.

Rounding out the soundtrack are some Opera-like numbers by Claudio Villa, an Italian singer that was a big deal in the fifties and sixties. I particularly like the song "Stornelli Amorisi" - an eight minute song that launches the album and puts you in the mood for what's to come. I'd tell you what it is about but I was never taught Italian so I have no idea.

The soundtrack also has the very dated sounding "Mambo Italiano" by Rosemary Clooney. This song is basically a series of Italian stereotypes and random words strung together with a catchy mambo beat. Some of the words aren't even Italian (i.e. 'enchillada') but as long as it sounds vaguely Italian it seems it is good enough for Rosemary.

As the descendant of Italian-Canadians (on my Mother's side) this song got a lot of play in my house growing up. Listening to it always made me wonder if Italians were that misunderstood in the fifties, or was the song supposed to be in jest? It certainly never offended us - if anything it was just plain goofy.

My Mom's parents were both Italian, but my Grandmother came to Canada as a very young girl, and although my Grandfather lived his early life in Italy, he died from a stroke shortly before I was born. All I have to remember him now are some old photos and the fact that I inherited his crazy-assed hair. Despite having little direct connection with the the ancestral homeland, over the years I have taken up my family's fierce self-identification with Italy.

I'd like to say that my connection to "Big Night" is simply a good movie, with good music, but I think I enjoy feeling a connection to the Italian characters, even though in truth I'm as Canadian as they come. Hey - we're all from somewhere, right?

I don't put this record on that often any more (I am not hot and bothered by swing at present) but I keep it because it has a few standards that I wouldn't want to be without when the fever returns.

Best tracks: Stornelli Amorisi, Oh Marie, Tic Ti Tic Ta, Don't Take Your Love From Me, Five Months Two Weeks Two Days

CD Odyssey Disc 214: Radiohead

Some albums rock, some albums suck, and some albums can't be judged easily because you don't know what the hell is even going on. This album is one of latter.

Disc 214 is...Hail To The Thief
Artist: Radiohead

Year of Release: 2003

What’s Up With The Cover?: A very bad piece of modern art - is it supposed to be a seaside city, where the blue at the top represents the sea, and the words that make up the aerial view of the city all the conflicting ideas and thoughts crammed together? That's what I see, but even if I've just guessed right it doesn't make it good.

How I Came To Know It: I first heard Radiohead as a band way back when "Pablo Honey" came out, then went many years until I heard "Kid A" at my friend Tony's place. This particular album is just Sheila digging through the collection (I think I bought her this for her stocking or birthday one year). Sheila is a big Radiohead fan, so the collection is really hers.

How It Stacks Up: We have seven Radiohead albums, and this is the first one I've reviewed. I'm going to be optimistic and say it is the worst.

Rating: 2 stars.

Since this review is going to be mostly negative, let me just start by saying that I admire Radiohead as a band. I think they are creative with what they do with music, and have carved out a sound unique to them. There is a reason they are so well-loved by critics and audiophiles alike.

Having said that, admiring a band's obvious talent is a very different thing from enjoying what they do. While there are a couple of Radiohead albums I quite like, they tend to be the more 'normal' ones. "Hail To The Thief" is not one of those.

To me this music is the extra-terrestrial version of lounge; it is both alien and a little boring. Deep down in some of the songs I can catch the beginnings of an interesting tune, sometimes even with a melody, but it has been so messed with it becomes hard to recognize as music.

In an effort to connect to this record, I sought some connection with the lyrics. Unfortunately, Thom Yorke's high pitched, tortured keening makes it very hard to follow along. When I finally got home tonight and was able to look at the liner notes (since doing that while driving is inadvisable) I discovered that the lyrics are slightly more interesting, but even then they don't say anything that blows me over.

Worse, Radiohead felt the need to give every song two titles, one regular title - and one in italics and parentheses. Example: "There there (The Boney King of Nowhere)." Why do this?

The music on "Hail To The Thief" isn't really about lyrics or melody, however. It is more about establishing an emotional mood. In this, it is fairly successful, and the longer you soak in it, the more comfortable it becomes. By my second listen I could start to get a sense of what they were doing, and even admire it. However, I still couldn't find myself enjoying it.

Each time I was just getting into the groove of a song, Radiohead would add some bizarre synth sound that more properly fit in an eerie scene from a science fiction movie. If that wasn't happening, then Yorke was unleashing some pitiful echoing wail to knock me out of my reverie and remind me that I had, in fact, been abducted by alien musicians.

Sorry, Radiohead - I appreciate the effort, but like Captain Picard, even after being forced to eat your weird food, and subjected to your mental torture in the car for two days, I still see four lights. Now send me back to my ship, my fellow Terrans are gonna start wondering what happened to me.

Best tracks: Um...they are all OK, I guess, or not. Not so much offensive, it's just I have a hard time telling them apart.

CD Odyssey Disc 213: The Bloodhound Gang

I am starting to write this before heading out to see Leonard Cohen, and I’ll likely finish after I’m back. That will be a strange experience, given what the next review is.

Let’s just say that it isn’t exactly Leonard Cohen.

Disc 213 is...Hooray For Boobies
Artist: The Bloodhound Gang

Year of Release: 2000

What’s Up With The Cover?: Apparently a celebration of ‘boobies’ of various sorts, with photos of the Bloodhound Gang interspersed. This cover is silly, but could have been so much more clever at being silly – much like this album.

How I Came To Know It: I saw the video for the song, “The Bad Touch” – you know, the one where the band runs around an urban environment dressed in monkey suits? Anyway, the video is pretty funny, but the song is funnier, so I bought this album based on one song, and over the subtle objections of the good folks at Lyle’s Place, who definitely warned me off.

How It Stacks Up: This is my only Bloodhound Gang album, and is likely to be my only one in future as well. It can’t really stack up on that basis.

Rating: 2 stars

I wasn’t sure how to file Bloodhound Gang after giving it a couple listens in the car. Their music is the punk/pop sound of Green Day mixed with the empty-headed hip hop of the early oughts. However, a lot of their songs shamelessly steal the licks of other songs, including everything from “Rock Me Amadeus” to “Another Brick in the Wall”.

They do all of these things in an effort to make you laugh, since the songs are all some kind of crude humour, so I tagged them as comedy.

Musically, they don’t do anything special, except maybe demonstrate how easy it is to write a catchy hip hop beat. The lyrics aren’t the greatest – most of the songs relate in some way to sex or bodily function, which I have to admit is a legitimate source of a lot of adult humour. The biggest problem with this version is they have too many contemporary pop culture references (Tool Time, X Files, etc.) that haven’t aged well ten years later.

The record has eighteen tracks (a heinous CD Odyssey crime right there) and it is mostly filler, but there are two clear winners.

The first is “The Bad Touch” which represents the Bloodhound Gang’s fifteen minutes of fame. In addition to the video I mentioned earlier, this song is damned funny. Yes, it suffers from the same faults as all other Bloodhound Gang songs (dated references, obvious hip hop beat and shock lyrics about sex acts). It is just that it does all these things better than any other track. The beat may be obvious, but it is also infectious, and gets your head bobbing. As for the lyrics and outdated allusions to popular culture – let’s just say they manage to turn Siskel and Ebert’s signature expression into a sex act.

The second is “The Ballad of Chasey Lain” which is a song that details a series of letters from a demented fan to porn star Chasey Lain that is the comedy album’s response to Eminem’s “Stan”. The Bloodhound Gang song is rude to the extreme, but unlike “Stan” at least no one dies, and after it is over, there is a bonus track of Chasey Lain giving an exposition of just how uninterested she is in the fan's advances.

In the end, this is a pretty weak album, and often the Bloodhound Gang come off as nothing more than smart but slacker losers sitting around their parent's basement making fun of the rest of the world. I suspect this is an act, since you don’t get a record made just sitting around watching cartoons and eating Zesty Mordant chips.

Listen to this for a couple chuckles, but don’t expect it to stand up to a lot of repeat plays.

Oh and on the other side of the musical spectrum, Leonard Cohen's show tonight was awesome as always. Thank you Mr. Cohen, for all you do.

Best tracks: The Bad Touch, The Ballad of Chasey Lain

CD Odyssey Disc 212: Journey

Victoria has just emerged from an early and unexpected snowstorm. Of course, the Odyssey reports on music, not the weather, but I mention it because it has kept my very manly Miata trapped in port, so to speak.

Today I was finally able to get out - having no one to have lunch with I had lunch with myself at the Blue Fox. I got some reading time in on my new book (see sidebar) and the short drive there and back was sufficient to get through the album that's been languishing in the car since Monday.

Disc 212 is...Escape
Artist: Journey

Year of Release: 1981

What’s Up With The Cover?: A science fiction scene - a spaceship modeled after a scarab beetle bursts out of some kind of interstellar snow globe. This cover is OK, but it is far too prog for the power pop that it heralds.

How I Came To Know It: If you're my age or older, you know this album. Journey was huge in the early eighties, and this album is the biggest of them all. They sold out stadiums all over the world, and if you haven't heard "Open Arms" or "Don't Stop Believin'" then you are either deaf or were raised by wolves.

How It Stacks Up: I only have this one Journey album, and it is likely to stay that way, so I guess that means I like it the best - at least from a position of ignorance of their other offerings.

Rating: 3 stars.

As I noted in the "How I Came To Know It" section, Journey is an early eighties megaband, and "Escape" is their definitive album.

I've tagged it under the 'rock' genre, but they are really power pop. I think there is sufficient power in the pop that they are more on the rock side, however. They are a mix of power-chord guitars, synthesizers and piano for ambience, and Steve Perry's signature vocals. Journey do not do anything particularly innovative, and their main legacy to the music world is that they were popular - and yes that is damning with faint praise.

That said, they play their ordinary songs with all the gusto they can muster, and they take themselves so seriously, they force you to either do the same - or if you can't bring yourself to do that - then you admire the schmaltz of it all. Either way it is entertaining stuff.

Most of the songs are fairly forgettable, but the two biggest hits on this album are justifiably still going strong - even if it is only on AM radio and at hockey arenas.

"Don't Stop Believin'" is always played at Detroit Red Wings home games, and when the line, "just a small town boy/born and raised in south Detroit" comes on, the entire crowd of 18,000+ sing along in full throat. It is a pretty cool hockey tradition, second only to Canucks fans singing a verse of O Canada a capella at every home game.

The Detroit Red Wings music guy does inspired work - he also always plays Alice Cooper's "No More Mr. Nice Guy" immediately following a goal from the visiting team. Listen for it next time you're watching a game.

Anyway, back to Journey, and "Don't Stop Believin'" which I contend is a five star song, whatever your opinion of stadium rock might be. From the opening bars played on piano, to Steve Perry belting out lyrics about young people finding their way (and each other) in the wide world, to the chorus exhorting listeners to hold onto our dreams, this song rocks.

The other hit, "Open Arms" is an early power ballad, which I mostly remember as being a primo slowdance song at high school dances. I have many pleasant memories of dancing to this song with the girl of my choice (or failing that, the first girl who was willing). This song reminds me of all the times I've walked along the front of the bleachers, trying to calculate just how far up the beauty chain I could reach and still get a yes to my invitation to dance.

The experience was nerve wracking, but well worth the chance of holding a real live girl close to you for three and a half minutes. Thank you, Journey, for all the girls who came to me with Open Arms.

I have the remastered version of "Escape" which follows the unfortunate trend of adding a bunch of bonus tracks. In this case, we get a B-Side ("La Raza Del Sol") which is forgettable and three live tracks from a 1981 concert in Houston. I wish bands would just put out a live album, and stop putting mediocre live tracks on their remastered studio albums.

In closing, if you like top forty pop - or simply haven't bought any new music since junior high, "Escape" probably ranks significantly higher than I've scored it, but my musical tastes have never been high on Journey. I'll tip my hat respectfully to them, but hold my applause to a measured three stars.

Best tracks: Don't Stop Believin', Stone In Love, and Open Arms - but only for the purposes of scoring a slow dance with a pretty girl.

CD Odyssey Disc 211: Wild Strawberries

I have not played this next album as much as KISS' "Destroyer" but that's because this album didn't come out until 1994, so "Destroyer" had an eighteen year head start. It has made up for lost time with heavy rotation since.

Disc 211 is...Bet You Think I'm Lonely
Artist: Wild Strawberries

Year of Release: 1994

What’s Up With The Cover?: It isn't the band. Some little girl gets a hug from a Mom or Dad figure (hard to tell). My guess is this is shortly after the girl has calmed down from a tearful tantrum at some family picnic. This is a typical alt-pop cover in the tradition of Belle & Sebastian (although Wild Strawberries are two years earlier). They depict photos of some scene that doesn't directly relate to the band or album title, but are simply 'arty'. I usually don't go for this, but I find "Bet You Think I'm Lonely" passable.

How I Came To Know It: I saw Wild Strawberries one late night watching Muchmusic's "The Wedge", a program that plays alternative music at late hours (prime time on Muchmusic is principally reserved for the worst the pop and hip hop world has to offer). They had a low budget video for "Life Sized Marilyn Monroe" and I loved the song. I wrote the title and band down and carried it around for the better part of a year until I finally found this album.

How It Stacks Up: A quick check of wikipedia (which as we know, is never wrong) reveals seven full length albums for the Wild Strawberries, although most look independent and hard to find. I have three of them, and of the three I think this is narrowly my favourite over number two.

Rating: 4 stars

"Wild Strawberries" are a Canadian alt-pop band comprised of a husband and wife team, Roberta Carter Harrison, and Ken Harrison. Ken writes the songs and plays keyboards, and Roberta sings. I'm not much of a keyboard expert, but Roberta Carter Harrison has a sweet voice, capable of being low and breathy or sweet and full when she's in her upper register.

I liked this band the first time I ever heard them, and when I finally had the whole record, it did not disappoint. Their sound is indie synth pop - bringing together the brooding haunting rock sound of Concrete Blonde, the indie pop of Rilo Kiley and that kind of detached R&B/funk sound that Beck does so well.. They are hard to quantify, but very good and deserving of considerably more commercial success than they enjoy.

The topics are often dark; the record opening with a song about a murder-suicide called, "That's The Way It Goes." At least I think its a murder-suicide. I've listened to it a hundred times, and just spent the last fifteen minutes poring over the lyrics (kudos to bands that print their lyrics). I'm now not sure if it is murder-suicide, or a double murder framed to look like one. The album ends with a song called "Angel Came Tumbling Down", which is about some single mother meeting a sad end in a small town. Both songs are depressing, but very good.

Another stand out is "Crying Shame" a song that opens by personifying what job loss feels like:

"Jenny lost her job on labour day
She looks so disconnected by she's really afraid
'My, my money's gonna fade away'
She says, 'Oh, what a crying shame."

And ends with a more general sense of the varied ways we view the truly down and out as we pass them on the street:

"Sometimes it's a dollar for the man outside the mission
Sometime's it's a fleeting note of social decay
Most of the time it's just peripheral vision
Oh, what a crying shame."

Knowing a few people who've lost their jobs this year through no fault of their own(including my lovely and wonderful wife) this song bit a little deeper this time around. It highlights how emotionally traumatic the experience is, and reminds us that wherever we're at on the wheel of fortune, we've got to hang together.

As for the Wild Strawberries, they voluntarily gave up jobs as a physiotherapist and a doctor to pursue their music careers, which scores pretty high on the bravery scale. Last I checked, Doctors do a lot better than Canadian indie bands.

It speaks to how the Wild Strawberries are willing to take risks to achieve what they want. These risks have never paid off financially, but on "Bet You Think I'm Lonely", they pay off artistically with a solid record I'll be putting on for many years to come.

Best tracks: The Way It Goes, Life Sized Marilyn Monroe, Bet You Think I'm Lonely, Crying Shame, Cinnamon, Angel Came Tumbling Down

CD Odyssey Disc 210: KISS

I've had a stressful couple of days in my life, and the Odyssey responded by serving up a record that has helped me through tough times for thirty-four years and counting.

I'm not saying it was planned that way, but I'll take a happy coincidence any time I can get one.

Disc 210 is...Destroyer
Artist: KISS

Year of Release: 1976

What’s Up With The Cover?: This is one of my favourite rock album covers of all time. The four band members stand on the top of some mountain, or pile of ruins, showing off some of the best froot boots in the world (that's what we called those elevator boots back in 1976 - although a quick Google search didn't show anything remotely the same in 2010). I drove my Mom nuts for many years begging to have a Gene Simmons Halloween costume based on this album cover.

How I Came To Know It: I bought it. In fact, as alluded to back in my first KISS review at Disc 31, "Destroyer" is the first record I ever bought. I got it either the year it came out, or maybe a year after. I was six or seven years old, and I still own that same record from all those years ago. It is a little crackley to listen to now, but you can still play it. Mostly, I just put on the CD now, but I won't part with the vinyl.

How It Stacks Up: I have eleven KISS albums, including two of the four solo efforts released in 1978. Of the eleven, I'd say this is the second best.

Rating: 4 stars, but only one sappy ballad too many from 5.

It is hard to know where to start with "Destroyer" it has been part of my life so long. KISS was my favourite band for many years and I alternately enthralled and freaked out my elementary school classmates with tales of the band's prowess, both real and imagined.

For example, the KISS army fan club had sent me important information about how Ace Frehley was descended from space aliens. To this I added that the expression "Ace!", which back in the late seventies meant "Cool!" existed because it was derived from Ace Frehley's name. I even had a few converts to this theory - many times more than would believe my exhortations about how Santa was actually your parents.

Back to the album, which is KISS at their best. I love their previous four albums, but with "Destroyer" it was like they took another step in their musical development. They added a lot more experimentation, including incorporating an orchestra and choir for "Great Expectations". This song also has Paul Stanley at his sexy, lascivious best as he sings:

"You watch me singing my song
You see what my mouth can do
And you wish you were the one
I was doing it to."

I can't believe I knew the lyrics to all the songs on this album before I turned ten. Of course, I thought the above meant that Paul was a really good singer, and not much more than that.

My favourite songs used to be "God of Thunder" which is an over the top fantasy-inspired rock song, and "Detroit Rock City" a song about an alcohol-fueled car accident (as a kid I missed the alcohol references as well). As I got older I began to appreciate the slightly softer songs like "Do You Love Me?" and "Great Expectations". This time around, I enjoyed "King of the Night Time World" and the rolling drum at the beginning (yes, I said something nice about Peter Criss but don't worry - I won't make a habit of it).

Of the two radio hits, "Shout It Out Loud" stands the test of time, but "Beth" remains a sore spot I've never forgiven this record for. As a 'real' KISS fan, I begrudged pop radio lovers adopting a KISS song as their own. Even from the beginning I used to skip this track - and on vinyl that's actual work! Of course, the Odyssey allows no skipping, so I had to sit through it for the first time in a while. This time around, I declare it...passable. That said I'll still be skipping it as an abomination in future - no sense giving up four decades of tradition on a whim!

With the exception of "Beth", every song on "Destroyer" is a winner and thirty-four years later this album still sounds fresh to me. It isn't because the music is complex - the songs are all pretty simple. It is that KISS is very good at what they do. "Destroyer" is good old fashioned escapist rock and roll, done at a high level.

Sometimes you need to escape, and music can make that happen. When I was a kid, this was my only record for a while. It helped me out then, and it helps me out to this day. It may be a schlocky KISS record to some, but for me it is probably the most emotionally evocative record in my whole collection.

Even if it wasn't your first album - even if you just bought it yesterday - it is still a kick ass rock record. Just do yourself a favour and skip track 8.

Best tracks: Everything except Beth

CD Odyssey Disc 209: Heather Masse

After a couple of compilation albums, it was nice to get back to rolling actual albums. Also back to folk music, one of my big loves, so a lovely homecoming all around.

Disc 209 is...Bird Song
Artist: Heather Masse

Year of Release: 2009

What’s Up With The Cover?: Check it out - a folk album cover that doesn't look like it was shot on a friend's camera phone. This one is simple, and maybe has an overly staged 'shot in the studio' feel, but it looks professional, which is good. Also, let's face it, Heather Masse has a natural beauty that really shines through here.

How I Came To Know It: I am a fan of the Wailin' Jennys through my friend Casey. As anyone who's read my Wailin Jenny's review back at Disc 92 knows, the Jennys have had lineup changes a fair bit. Heather Masse is the most recent addition (coming into the band in 2007). I took a flier, since she was a Jenny, and bought it unheard.

How It Stacks Up: I only have one Heather Masse album. I do have two "third Jenny" albums though, as I also have the solo effort of Annabelle Chvostek (Jenny from 2004-2007). Of the two, I prefer this one. I don't have a solo album by original Jenny Cara Luft (2002-2004), but I think I'll get one if its out there, just for purposes of harmony.

Rating: 3 stars.

As noted above, Heather Masse is the most recent replacement Jenny in the Wailin' Jennys, a folk band I have much love for, and for whom I am fearful, as they've had too many lineup changes, and don't look active at present.

That said, if she has ended up a folk refugee, Heather Masse is at least a well-equipped one. The songs on this album are consistently strong, both in writing and delivery. While a Wailin' Jenny now, Masse is not Canadian, and grew up in Maine (yeah, I cheated and checked her website).

While there, I was also not surprised she has a jazz background, as there is a jazz vibe in the background of a few songs. When it comes to the forefront, like on "Bathtub" it ends up too cute by half, but fortunately this doesn't happen often. Typically, her jazz stylings are seemlessly blended into folk music and add a nice upbeat vibe that offsets some of the more sombre songs on the album. "High Heeled Woman" is cute in exactly the right proportion. I love the chorus:

"I want a high-heeled woman
To make me feel small
I want a long legged woman
I like 'em nice and tall
She'll be kicking up dirt
And pickin' up trouble
I wanta a high-heeled woman
I've got to reach up to cuddle."

While there are other equally playful songs ("Mittens" comes to mind, a song that makes long underwear sexy - thus cementing Masse solidly as a Canadian in tradition, if not by birth).

In other songs, she is more introspective, such as the opening track "I Don't Wanna Wake Up Today", which thematically reminded me of the Cowboy Junkies' "Sun Comes Up, It's Tuesday Morning".

Unlike the Junkie's Margot Timmins, Heather Masse's voice is never a breathy whisper. Even at her softest, her power is strongly evident. To her credit, she never pushes it in a song just to show off, although you feel she could. She sings the song exactly as powerfully as is called for, free of ego, but with plenty of emotion.

I can't say I loved this album, but I liked it a lot, and almost gave it four stars. It is an album that requires some attention to draw out all its secrets, but it is worth the time. I've only owned it a few months, and have heard it less than ten times. Yet on every listen, I find myself liking it more and more. It makes me hopeful that she'll get in the studio with the other two Wailin' Jennys and record something apart from a live album (which is all the current line up has out). If not, I'll settle for another solo album when she's ready.

Best tracks: I Don't Wanna Wake Up Today, Bird Song, Our World, High Heeled Woman, Orphan Girl, Time's a Hoax

CD Odyssey Disc 208: Ella Fitzgerald

From a compilation of eighties metal to a compilation of easy listening jazz. That is how the CD Odyssey rolls. You think Odysseus thought he’d be at sea for twenty years? No – he didn’t have a clue. I'll learn that lesson now, and just take this thing one adventure at a time.

Disc 208 is...The Jazz Sides
Artist: Ella Fitgerald

Year of Release: 1995 but with music from the fifties and sixties

What’s Up With The Cover?: A picture of Ella, belting out a tune. This picture is jarring to me, because on the album her voice seems so effortless, but this picture implies extreme effort. This cover also suggests there are at least 45 other “Jazz Masters” out there, likely more. This is the only one I’ve got though.

How I Came To Know It: This album comes from my dalliance in the late nineties with all things swing. I can’t remember where I heard of her in particular, but it is hardly surprising, as she is one of the most famous jazz singers of all time. I think this album might’ve been a gift from my wife in a stocking, but not sure about that either. It has been kicking around the CD shelves for a while, in any event.

How It Stacks Up: This album is a ‘best of’ and even if it weren’t, it’s the only Ella Fitzgerald music I’ve got, so it can’t stack up.

Rating: ‘best ofs’ and compilations don’t get stars, jerky! I did enjoy this record though.

When I rolled this album I’ll admit I was less than enthused. My head’s not really in a jazz or swing frame of mind these days, and if not for the Odyssey, I wouldn’t be putting this on very often.

Also, for many years I’ve been down on Ella Fitzgerald, as ‘too perfect.’ In my mind, I’d rather hear the more raw sounding Billie Holliday. This time around I bounced back and forth, at times wanting to hear a little more rawness, and at times just admiring her natural ability.

Yes, she is a little too perfect, but unlike Holliday, she’s not focused on making you hear the hurt in the songs – she just wants to sing you a song as best she can. As it turns out, Ella Fitzgerald’s best is about as good as vocals get. If she sounds a little too perfect, that’s because she is damned near perfect. Just the right mix of raspy and breathy, and delivered in a way that makes you think she sang every song with just the hint of a smile on her lips.

Many of these songs are well-known standards that I’ve heard done by a number of artists, including “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” (Billie Holliday), “Everything I’ve Got” (Holly Cole Trio), “One More For My Baby (and One More for the Road)” (Frank Sinatra) and “Knock Me a Kiss” (Louis Jordan). I’ll admit in each of these cases, I prefer the non-Ella Fitzgerald version, but that doesn’t make hers bad. In fact, if anything they’re just a little too…perfect. There’s that word again.

Fortunately, there are other moments where I can’t imagine anyone doing it better than Ella Fitzgerald. On this record, “Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall In Love),” “Hear Me Talkin’ To Ya” and “It’s Only a Paper Moon” come to mind.

In the end, this is a surprisingly mixed review for an artist who has so clearly mastered her craft. If you like music where every note is laid out neatly just so, this is definitely for you. If you like a little more interpretative flair, then I’ve laid a few ideas out earlier you might want to check out. Whatever floats your boat.

Best tracks: Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall In Love), Hear Me Talkin’ To Ya, It’s Only a Paper Moon

CD Odyssey Disc 207: Grim Reaper

Ask anyone to name two British heavy metal bands, and you'll usually hear "Iron Maiden" and "Judas Priest" and rightly so - these guys are the pinnacle of eighties new wave British metal. But there are other bands my friends, not as well known, not as commercially successful. Not even as talented, but that still gave a generation of kids a little more music to bang their heads to. This review is dedicated to those bands.

Disc 207 is...Best of Grim Reaper
Artist: Grim Reaper

Year of Release: 1999 but music from 1984 to 1987

What’s Up With The Cover?: A fanged skeleton armed with a scythe glares menacingly at anyone foolish enough to buy this album for sentimental reasons. This cover is pretty standard fare for "Grim Reaper". Their first two albums feature Death rearing up on his horse and a skeleton on a motorcycle crashing through a stained glass window. I give these covers an A if you are 15 years old, and a solid B at age 40.

How I Came To Know It: I bought this record about five years ago for reasons of nostalgia. In the mid-eighties both my brother Virgil and I were solidly devoted to all things heavy metal (my art teacher once asked me if I was a 'heavy metal meathead' and I replied, 'yes, sir').

Virgil was a fisherman back then and he'd come in from a month at sea and basically buy any record in the metal section that had a good cover and featured a band we had remotely heard of. Grim Reaper qualified on all counts. I listened to his records, and thought Grim Reaper was pretty sweet. In fact, I even had a rock pin for my jean jacket. I still have both pin and jacket - here's a close up:
How It Stacks Up: This album is a 'best of' so can't stack up - this is a long-standing Odyssey standard, and I'll hold to it yet again.

Rating: It is a best of, so no rating is appropriate.

Grim Reaper is a proper metal album, solidly in the middle of that genre. It is not 'tinsel' metal, which is basically just hard rock masquerading as metal (like Van Halen or Def Leppard). It is not 'hair' metal, which is more about being pretty than it is about music (like White Lion or Skid Row) and it is not 'glam' metal, which is basically like hair metal, except the band wears make up and spandex (like Poison).

Grim Reaper is straight ahead metal. The rhythym guitar drives away - chuka-chuka-chuka - the lead guitar unleashes ferocious noodles in between the second stanza and the fade out chorus, and the lead singer shrieks (in tune) like an Opera star on PCP. Whether all this works or not, is where the burned rubber hits the road.

On the plus side, Grim Reaper are blessed with a very strong vocalist in Steve Grimmett. The man has powerful pipes, and can hold a crazily high note for an inhuman stretch. He doesn't have the range of Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, but for pure shriek-ability, he holds his own.

The lead guitar is Nick Bowcott who while obviously knowing how to handle the axe, sadly seems to have studied at the Eddie Van Halen School for Noodlers. This generally means the noodle will be super-fast and proficient in a 'look what I can do!' kind of way, but it will have little relation to the song it is interrupting, and even less emotional content. Fortunately, this school of guitar solos also usually dictates the solo is not very long - I guess they play so fast that they use up all the notes available in under forty five seconds.

Grim Reaper's biggest failing is not their musical prowess however - it is their subpar writing. They could have been a great metal band, but most of the songs sound very generic, both musically and lyrically. They just don't have much to say, and the music's not good enough to hide that fact.

This 'best of' package has seventeen songs, which seems excessive for a band that only released three studio albums. On the plus side, I get most of their music all on one album. On the negative side, I get most of their music all on one album.

When I was fifteen, Grim Reaper was probably a top five band for me - below Maiden, Priest and Sabbath, but likely ahead of a lot of stuff that I now know is better. Now, they don't hold the same charm, although a couple of their songs ("See You In Hell" and "Fear No Evil") still hold up pretty well. For these two songs, and in memory of that kid with the jean jacket and the rock pins, I'll be keeping this one.

Best tracks: See You In Hell, Fear No Evil.

CD Odyssey Disc 206: Blue Oyster Cult

Ladies and gentlemen - on your feet, or on your knees. Here they are, the amazing Blue! Oyster Cult!

Disc 206 is...Cultosaurus Erectus
Artist: Blue Oyster Cult

Year of Release: 1980

What’s Up With The Cover?: Let me just start by saying that all Blue Oyster Cult album covers are awesome. This one features the crazy spacy creature, 'Cultosaurus Erectus' which is some form of garganguan dinosaur - if you look down near the creature's neck you'll see a space ship, just to show you the awesome scale of the creature.

I have this on vinyl as well, and the back of the sleeve there is a bunch of faked archaeological pictures, with goofy captions like, "unfertilized egg from female Cultosaurus Erectus found in the Stalk-Forrest near Oyster Bay, Long Island". FYI, "Stalk Forrest Group" is the former name of the band. There is also an 'artist's rendition' of the creature, showing a huge long neck, and tadpole-shaped body. Here's a photo:
When I was a kid I'd sit and imagine just how such a creature could live. I mean, if you look at it's teeth carefully, you'll see they are actually fused together - it couldn't even bite something. I imagine it dines on some form of cosmic krill, that float in the outer atmosphere. I like to imagine stuff like that, which is why Blue Oyster Cult is a perfect band for me.

How I Came To Know It: My brother was a huge fan of Blue Oyster Cult, and so have I been since I can remember walking. I've known this album, and known it well since it came out when I was 10. I even recently purchased it on record.

How It Stacks Up: I have fourteen BOC albums - 11 studio and 1 live. I think they should be compared separately, and "Cultosaurus Erectus" is a studio album. Of the eleven, it is pretty strong, but BOC has a lot of good records. I'll say it is solidly in the middle - 5th or 6th best, depending on my mood.

Rating: 4 stars.

Long have I suffered through the Odyssey, wondering what cruel trick of randomness would deny even a single one of my fourteen BOC albums to me over 205 reviews. I wouldn't say they are the greatest band of all time (although they are close) - just that they are my favourite band. Finally, I caught a break and here they are. I even kept it in the car an extra day to celebrate.

"Cultosaurus Erectus" came out right before the album that would return BOC to prominence, 1981's "Fire of Unknown Origin". It isn't even close to as successful as that record commercially, but among BOC fans, it is held in equally high regard. Musically, it is easily one of the three most interesting records they've made, and lead singer Eric Bloom is at his best here.

The record is a perfect microcosm of all the strange elements that go together to collectively make BOC both brilliant and bizarre.

The progressive elements of their rock are as evident here as on any record. There are crazy time signature changes happening mid-song, and every instruments gets its chance to shine - including bass solos, piano solos and even saxophone solos. The lyrics are dominated by all manner of wacky and wonderful topics.

All three items come together in "Monsters" a song that alternates between a kick-ass riff laid down by guitar hero "Buck" Dharma, and a weird jazz solo on the saxophone played by guest musician Mark Rivera.

I usually can't stand sax solos, but on "Monsters" it is so jarringly perfect, I can't resist it. I can't imagine trying harder to ruin a song with goofy arrangements, and only managing to make it better.

The topic of the song appears to be a group of people who steal a spaceship to explore the universe:

"Got our hands on a ship
And stole away into the night
The four of us and Pasha dear
She to steer and we to fight

Fed up with rules and regulations
No more laughter left on Earth
Outer Space our one salvation
May God help us in our search."

Another standout is "Black Blade", a song about 60s fantasy novel star Elric of Melnibone, co-written by the author of the books, Michael Moorcock. Moorcock also helped Hawkwind write a couple entire albums about Elric, so the guy got around.

I also like "Unknown Tongue" a song I've listened to thousands of times and I'm still not sure whether it's about masturbation, speaking in tongues, self-mutilation or what. I think maybe a bit of all those things.

Even the lesser songs surprise me. As I was writing this review, I was listening to the album on headphones, and "Hungry Boys" caught my attention. A song dominated by a repeating guitar riff, but in the background (and in one ear only) a second guitar plays a strange rythym section of individual notes, each cut off at the end by a beat of silence, making it almost behave like a second (and rogue) drummer. Why? We don't know - but it is good.

Or in "Fallen Angel", which starts out with a weird, almost techno-synth sound that would come to dominate later efforts like 1983's "The Revolution By Night". Instead of overstaying its welcome, this sound instead effortlessly morphs into a straight ahead rock and roll song, occasionally resurfacing just enough to keep you interested. The song both lyrically and musically was written for driving fast and free with the wind in your hair. Hearing it reminded me why BOC is still popular at motorcycle events; their music is made for it:

"From the dust I rose on high
Thunder cloud in a two-lane sky
From the world I did rebel
A fallen angel

Highway lust was in my blood
No girl could ever take my love
Cold and cruel and then I fell
A fallen angel."

"Cultosaurus Erectus" is everything a good Blue Oyster Cult album should be. When you first hear it, you mistake it for straightforward high quality hard rock, but the more you listen to it, the more you'll realize just how much they expirement, and how many risks they take - all the while making it work.

Or to borrow a little motorcycle imagery - they throw themselves a lot of curves in the road, but they don't slow down for any of them - they just lean over and power through.

Best tracks: Black Blade, Monsters, Fallen Angel, Lips In the Hills, Unknown Tongue

CD Odyssey Disc 205: Enya

Thanks for your confidence, gentle reader. Back at Disc 24, when I had rolled a second Enya album, I appealed for calm, promising that the Odyssey would not be populated every 12th review with another Enya album.

This has borne out as true, and it is over 180 reviews later that the third Enya album finally makes an appearance.

Disc 205 is...Enya (Self-Titled)
Artist: Enya

Year of Release: 1986

What’s Up With The Cover?: Enya always looks good on her album covers (this comes from her innate advantage of being, you know, good looking). However, of all of them I like this one the best. She has a kind of art show punk look going on, which would never be replicated on later covers. After this, they all feature her in some combination of flowing velvet skirt, and wistful folk gaze. I like the edge on this one. Even the dogs work.

How I Came To Know It: It was 1991 and I had already purchased "Watermark" and "Shepherd Moons". This was a combination of me being interested in getting more Enya, and being advised by other Enya fans that this album was worth my time. Also, at the time it was the only other Enya album around.

How It Stacks Up: I still have five Enya albums, and this one holds up well. I'll put it 2nd.

Rating: 4 stars.

In previous reviews I've talked about Enya's style, which is new age, with Celtic folk inspirations. She comes by this naturally, getting started in her family's Celtic folk band, Clannad.

This is her first album, and of the five I have it is definitely the most mood-driven. The songs may not have the same range as we'll see on later albums, but they make up for that with a haunting moody feeling. All the songs are universally short, ranging from as little as 1:19 up to a long of 4:23, but they flow one to the next so seemlessly, the album at times seems like a single track.

As with most Enya albums, the lyrics are often in Gaelic, and when they're not, they're very basic - sometimes more than ooohs and aaahs.

The music has an unearthly quality; its hollow-sounding production makes Enya's already breathy voice even more ethereal. Using a technique for which she has made famous, she layers her own voice on top of itself over and over again, creating a kind of unearthly choir that makes you think her back up singers are a host of Elven spirits. If you're wondering what music you get to listen to when you're abducted by faeries, this would be a good guess.

The song titles evoke many Celtic legends, including one song called "Triad" that pays homage to early Celtic missionary St. Patrick, and mythical warrior poets Cu Chulainn and Oisin. There is also a separate song in honour of Celtic warrior queen and patriot Boadicea.

I admit that being a fan of Celtic Mythology, these song titles increase the album's coolness factor for me, but this record isn't about topic or lyrics as much as it is about capturing a simple yearning for a magical time long passed. It makes you want to find a comfortable patch of moss by a small stream in the woods, and just lie there, listen to the water and empty your mind of cares.

This is never more evident than in the instrumental, "The Sun In the Stream" featuring one of the more beautiful performances on the Uillean Pipes I've ever heard (and I've heard more than a few). Shout out to Uillean Pipes artist Liam Og O'Floinn.

This album won't blow you away, but it will quietly enchant you with its soothing grace.

Best tracks: The Celts, March of the Celts, Deireadhan Tuath, The Sun In the Stream, Triad, Boadicea, Bard Dance

CD Odyssey Disc 204: The Who

The next disc is one of the greatest albums ever made. Period. If you don't agree with me then clearly you are an idiot. If you don't like being called an idiot, then you should reconsider your opinion about this album.

Disc 204 is...Who's Next

Artist: The Who

Year of Release: 1971

What’s Up With The Cover?: For years I've thought very little of this cover. I mean, it is the four band members standing near a concrete block. Then a couple of years ago I had an epiphany about what was happening. The band members are in various stages of doing up their pants, and if you'll look at the concrete block you'll see telltale...moisture trails. That's right - this is a picture of the Who immediately after they have all stood together and peed on a concrete block. This is now one of my favourite album covers of all time.

How I Came To Know It: I have known these songs most of my life, but I bought this on CD sometime back in the mid-nineties, I think. I don't recall the catalyst for me doing so - probably just looking for a good Who studio album, since all we had at the time was the "Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy" compilation.

How It Stacks Up: I have three Who studio albums, plus the aforementioned compilation. "Who's Next" is the best of all of them - including the best of.

Rating: 5 stars, because my rating system only goes to 5.

One of my sidebar columns on "A Creative Maelstrom" is "Best...albums...so far." When I'm finished this review, I'll be adding "Who's Next" to that column and I feel very confident when the Odyssey is over, it will still be there.

Musically, lyrically, and in terms of overall production, I can't find anything wrong with "Who's Next?" I've owned it for a long time, and I still put it on all the time. It features at least three of the greatest songs ever written, "Baba O'Riley", "Behind Blue Eyes" and "Won't Get Fooled Again".

The synthesizer sequences in "Baba O'Riley" are so groundbreaking for 1971, it is ridiculous. If you ever get a chance to watch Pete Townsend show how he put these sequences together by basically connecting a simple computer to a series of plug-ins do so. It was so complex, that in concert they had to resort to just playing a tape of that part, and coming in live on queue as best they could (hint: they usually did just fine).

"Behind Blue Eyes" is a song that gets you inside the head of the bad man, and feel sympathy for him. It adds personal angst knowing that this song is a deeply personal expression of Pete Townsend's own tortured soul. The fact that Roger Daltry then takes that song and makes it all about him is exactly why he is one of the greatest front men in rock and roll.

"Won't Get Fooled Again" finds that perfect balance between a call to revolution, and a cynical expression that nothing will change anyway. The only conclusion it eventually comes to is:

"I pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
And I get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again."

The song also showcases each bandmembers formidable music talent for over eight and half glorious minutes. My only regret - the song isn't longer.

The original record has only nine tracks, ending with "Won't Get Fooled Again" but my version is the remastered/extra tracks version. There are seven extra tracks, which ordinarily would have me complaining of excess, but not here.

First, these songs are from the same period, not simple add-ons. Most are recorded in 1971 as well, and I suspect hit the floor of the cutting room only because of the limitations of vinyl.

Secondly, they fit musically and thematically with the rest of the record, so the transition into them is relatively seemless. They sound like they belong, and they are good enough to hold their own against what has come before.

Third, these songs are better than what most bands can do for their main effort. I particularly like "Naked Eye" and "Too Much of Anything" but they all have their charm. I might've left off the 'original version' of "Behind Blue Eyes", since I prefer the one that made the record, but having to listen to another version of is hardly torture.

"Who's Next" was originally going to be a concept album from Pete Townsend called "The Lifehouse Project". In Townsend's words, the Lifehouse Project was to be "a portentous science-fiction film with Utopian spiritual messages into which were to be grafted uplifting scenes from a real Who concert."

That actually sounds pretty good to me, but you can see why the producer (and I suspect the other band members) preferred to have an album with some regular rock songs, rather than a dense and hard-to-understand rock opera. Besides, they had just done "Tommy" two years earlier.

The result is that "Who's Next" has a tension between Lifehouse tracks, and more straightforward rock songs, and this tension makes a great album even greater.

This reminds me of one of my favourite Blue Oyster Cult albums, 1974s "Secret Treaties", which keyboardist/rhythym guitarist Allen Lanier wanted to make into a bizarre Lovecraftian concept album. Other band members wanted a more straightforward rock album and the result was a compromise between the two that was better than the sum of its parts - just like "Who's Next"

I've heard a lot of music in my life - I'd say more than most. I've rarely heard a record as good as "Who's Next" and I don't think I've heard any clearly better. This is must-have music - idiots excepted, of course.

Best tracks: All tracks, but standouts for me are: Baba O'Riley, Getting in Tune, Behind Blue Eyes, Won't Get Fooled Again, and from the bonus tracks: Naked Eye and Too Much of Anything