CD Odyssey Disc 119: Shaggy

This edition of the CD Odyssey is the fifth straight "good but not great" album. It is also a guilty pleasure.

If you happened to think you spotted me driving home with this album playing a little too loud today all I can say is...it wasn't me.

Disc 119 is...Hot Shot
Artist: Shaggy

Year of Release: 2000

How I Came To Know It: I don't remember any more. I've had this album since soon after it came out. I think I just liked the singles - and so I bought it. A rare decision to buy something based on radio play, rather than a recommendation.

How It Stacks Up: I only have this one Shaggy album. Hence, comparisons would be a bit tricky.

Rating: 3 stars.

This album begs the question, "What ever happened to Shaggy?" For two or three years there in the late nineties and early oughts, he was a big deal. Previous to "Hot Shot" he had been made famous by the single "Oh Carolina", which I believe came out while he was still serving as a soldier in the US Army. Something about a regular GI Joe fulfilling his dreams sits right with me.

"Hotshot" propelled him to superstardom. Yet, it was not to last. Like so much pop music, it is fun for a while, but quickly fades. Like a trip to the amusement park when you're ten.

. As I mentioned above, this record is a guilty pleasure for me. I actually pull this one out a fair bit when I need something peppy, and it never disappoints. It is a blend of a sort of rap hip-hop vibe, with a more straightforward pop sensibility that makes it easy for the masses to digest.

Shaggy's voice is also a sort of blend of pop stylings, reggae and that Indian dance music I can never remember the name of. He also isn't afraid to bring on other very talented singers to lay down catchy choruses. It is painfully commercial, but it does what it does very well.

The big hit on this album is "It Wasn't Me" which features the world's second dumbest man, complaining that his girlfriend caught him cheating. Of course he had given her an extra key to his place AND he was cheating with his next door neighbour.

This man then receives advice from the world's dumbest man: "Say it wasn't you."

Uh...dude - the girl caught him "buck naked bangin' on the bathroom floor". On camera. Dumb man's reply, "Say it wasn't you." Anyway - while these two characters are dumb as a bag of hammers, the song is pretty funny. It also has a catchy beat.

This album came at a good time for me as well. I've had a hard week, with bad news on a number of fronts. I've been trying hard not to let all this bad news get me down. "Hotshot" had a couple songs in a row ("Hope" and "Keep'n It Real") that are all about hangin' in there. Good songs, with positive messaging, and timely. Thanks, Shaggy.

One thing that does irk me about this album is the beginning of the trend in music to not just sample a few notes from another song, but to wholesale borrow a few bars from another song, or a whole chorus.

Shaggy does so to good effect in "Angel" which borrows the tune from Juice Newton's "Just Call Me Angel", and with lesser results in "Dance & Shout" where he borrows from a Michael Jackson song the name of which escapes me.

It isn't that he does this borrowing poorly. It is more that this has become a bit of an epidemic in urban music ever since. If Shaggy didn't start it, he certainly encouraged it with big hits based largely on other people's songs.

For all that, it is a good record, and some of the more engaging pop I've heard in the last ten years. Then again, I also get guilty pleasure from Lady Gaga's "The Fame Monster" (It is OK, Sheila bought it - I just live here).

Best tracks: Angel, Hope, Keep'n It Real, Freaky Girl, It Wasn't Me

CD Odyssey Disc 118: The Eurythmics

From 1968 and Thelonious Monk, to 1986 and one of the few pop acts that I actually liked during my Heavy Metal days in high school.

Disc 118 is...Revenge
Artist: The Eurythmics

Year of Release: 1986

How I Came To Know It: Like most other kids who graduated in 1988, the Eurythmics were a pretty big deal in the day, with many a radio hit. However, my deeper appreciation for their individual albums (including this one) come from my buddy Curt, who was pretty into the Eurythmics - and particularly liked this album and "Savage".

How It Stacks Up: I have five studio albums by the Eurythmics, which I think is all of them. They are hard to rate; I like different ones for different reasons on different days. That said, "Revenge" is not my favourite, so I'll say it floats between 3rd and 5th.

Rating: 3 stars.

As I noted above, the Eurythmics was one of the few eighties pop bands that I not only tolerated in high school, but openly enjoyed. Twenty five years later, nothing has changed.

Chronologically, "Revenge" is right in the middle of the five albums, and is a real hinge to their sound.

On the one hand, it has tracks that are reminiscent of the earlier pop-electronic sounds on "Sweet Dreams" and "Touch". It also has the smooth pop sound, accented by strings and saxophone which I associate more with the later albums "Savage" and "We Too Are One".

The album starts out very strong, with the two monster hits "Missionary Man" and "Thorn in My Side". I think even the third track, "When Tomorrow Comes" was a minor hit - this album likely did very well.

"Thorn In My Side" in particular is one of my all-time favourite Eurythmics songs. Annie Lennox is at her best - which is simply one of the greatest pop vocalists of all time. I always enjoy how strong and full her voice is, even at the very high register. The rich and natural tones she puts out are such a great counter to the electronic deliberately-artificial production of Dave Stewart.

Some of the weaker tracks ("Let's Go", "Take Your Pain Away") are pretty forgettable. I only mention this, because on most Eurythmics albums the songs that most people don't know are actually very good. The Eurythmics often use lesser tracks to do stuff that is expirimental or away from their more commercially known sound. While I've noted a couple that failed to connect, they usually do quite well when they branch out.

As an example, I really noticed "A Little of You" this time around. This song is 80% eighties electronic dance song, but right when you think nothing interesting is going to happen, Annie and Dave slip in a bridge of almost pure disco. Crafty...and effective.

The Eurythmics are also one of the few bands I forgive for using that eighties drum machine sound. Usually, it just sounds to me like some foley artist slapping a side of beef in a Bruce Lee Movie. Parts of "Savage" successfully translate this abomination into something almost resembling an instrument.

Although pretty familiar with this record from high school, and having had the hits for years on the Eurythmics "best of" album, I think I only bought this on CD in the last year or so. What was I waiting for?

I have it now, and with it (and other recent purchase "Savage") I can part with the "best of" before I even roll it!

Bye bye, "best of Eurythmics" - the studio album has had its just Revenge.

Best tracks: Missionary Man, Thorn In My Side, A Little of You, I Remember You

Figurine: Dwarf Fighter

My latest painted figurine is a dwarf. I think this guy turned out pretty good. I tried a new base colour for his armour, which I don't really like, but the colour I like for that has been discontinued, so I am searching for a replacement before I get to a seriously cool piece.

A little triva - the beard and helmet horns on this figure are painted the exact same colour to start with - but they have different brushwork techniques, and highlight colours, so come out looking completely different.

Yawn, you say? It is my blog, I say.

The dude has a big nose. Here he is from behind.

His nose is less noticeable from this angle, but you can see the folds in his tabard quite nicely. All in all, I'm pretty pleased with this guy.

Next up: A desert ranger!

CD Odyssey Disc 117: Thelonious Monk

The next disc in the Odyssey is a return to jazz. If you like jazz, you better really enjoy this review, because I don't have very much of it.

Disc 117 is...Underground
Artist: Thelonious Monk

Year of Release: 1968

How I Came To Know It: I had a "best of" Thelonious Monk album (wich I reviewed way way back at Disc 5) and I wanted to get an actual album. I picked this one because I liked the write up on the back, and because it had none of the songs on my compilation album.

But who am I kidding? I also picked it because it has a kick ass cover featuring Thelonious dressed up as a French partisan in the second world war. I particularly dig his hot Maquis girlfriend in the background.

How It Stacks Up: Since the only other album by Monk that I have is a "best of" this album doesn't have anything to compare to. I'd like to get more, but I'm not sure I put jazz on often enough to justify it.

Rating: 3 stars.

I don't like a lot of modern jazz, but I have a soft spot for a few artists that made their music in the fifties and sixties. Of these few, Monk is definitely my favourite.

I'm not going to say a lot about this record musically, other than that I enjoyed it. Frankly, I don't know enough about what the hell is going on to comment. Then again, I have a strong suspicion three quarters of the people that stand around at cocktail parties and discuss jazz don't know what the hell they are talking about either.

Therefore, I'll stick with the basics. Generally, I like Monk best when he is in a fast groove, rather than his introspective moody stuff. On this album, that means I prefer "Thelonious" and "Raise Four" as the more accessible and upbeat tracks.

"Thelonious" is an example of how self-absorbed jazz musicians can be. I mean the song is named after the writer. On the "best of" album I've got he has two more of these - "Monk's Dream" and "Blue Monk." That's up there with Queensryche writing a song called "Queen of the Reich.

The other song "Raise Four," feels like it is riffing off of the Dave Brubeck song "Take Five" - it has a similar vibe. The title implies that's the case as well, but I have no true idea.

My friend Penelope once told me "To appreciate jazz, you first have to know what tune they are fucking with." I thought this hilarious, and for the uninitiated like me, it is as good a theory as any. Anyway, the suggestion alone made "Raise Four" that much more enjoyable.

This particular CD release has great production, but sadly has felt the need to include three bonus tracks. They are all just different "Takes" of songs already on the album, which is pretty lame.

I suppose there is some guy out there that is very excited that this album has the coveted Take 2 of "Boo Boo's Birthday" - since the original album decided to go with Take 11. I am not that guy. "Boo Boo's Birthday" sounds pretty much the same to me twice over.

The liner notes to this record are way too pretentious with one notable exception. On one page it looks like they've kept the original back cover of the record, which has this ridiculous back story about "Capitaine Monk." The notes make out like the room he is photoed in is actually his Manhattan apartment, and that he actually was in the Maquis during the second world war. It ends with this little bit of prose:

"Actually, the title of this album, UNDERGROUND, is something of a misnomer - Monk surfaced long ago! He has been committing thelonious assaults on certain hidebound enclaves of jazz since the mid-Forties. Oh yes, about the girl with the firearm in the background. No explanation was asked, nor was one forthcoming."

Yeah - I noticed her too.

Best tracks: Thelonious, Raise Four

CD Odyssey Disc 116: Soundtrack

After two straight nineties concept albums I found myself in a strange place - actually craving a few pop singles. This was decidedly not like me.

Fortunately, while the next selection is the fourth straight album in the Odyssey that was put out in the early nineties, this one was loaded with pop hits from the seventies. Sweet, sweet variety!

Disc 116 is...Reservoir Dogs
Artist: Various

Year of Release: 1992

How I Came To Know It: I can't really remember. I can't even remember if I saw "Reservoir Dogs" before "Pulp Fiction" or after. I remember playing this album a lot when I got it though, goofy dialogue sections and all.

How It Stacks Up: As I've said many times (having rolled many soundtracks) I have over twenty soundtracks. I'd put "Reservoir Dogs" somewhere in the middle of those 20, but the weakest sister of the three Tarantino records reviewed so far.

Rating: 3 stars.

Something about a Tarantino soundtrack that always hits the spot. I've already reviewed Jackie Brown at Disc 30, and Pulp Fiction at Disc 102, so this is the last of them (I don't own the Kill Bill soundtracks...yet).

As with those others, Tarantino once again shows his great ear for music that has been forgotten for too long.

"Reservoir Dogs" is a tight little film about a bank job gone wrong. Music is entertwined throughout the film, appearing in the form of a fictitious AM radio station known as "K-BILLY's Super Sounds of the Seventies", with comedian Steven Wright playing the part of the unseen DJ.

I've heard this album a lot, and of all the songs, "Little Green Bag" and "Hooked On a Feeling" best stand the test of time.

Of course, I would be remiss to not mention one of the great music/movie pairings of all time - we listen to the "Dylanesque pop bubble-gum favourite" "Stuck in the Middle With You". The song comes on the radio in the film, at the same time as we watch Mr. White (played disturbingly well by a then-unknown Michael Madsen) cut a man's ear off with a straight razor, before dousing him in gasoline.

For years afterward, you would see people dancing around imitating Michael Madsen when this song came on. It was a little bit creepy.

On this listen, I enjoyed hearing the fake DJ describing all the tracks that had "just been on" but aren't in the movie or on the soundtrack. Kind of an honourable mention of songs that didn't make the cut, but caught Tarantino's attention enough to put in the screenplay. Here they are:

"Turn the Beat Around" - Vicky Sue Robinson
"Heaven on the Seventh Floor" - (artist not cited)
"Le Freak" - Chic
"Fly Robin Fly" - The Silver Connection
"The World is A Ghetto" - War
"Billy Don't Be a Hero" - Bill Donaldson and the Haywoods
"Doesn't Somebody Want To Be Wanted" - The Partridge Family
"Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes" - Edison Lighthouse

Put together, they could have made a second volume of movie tracks. You could call it "Reservoir Lost Dogs". Get it? Get it?

Anyway, while this album came at a good time, and has some quality tracks, it is styled around seventies AM radio. Consequently, it is a little too...AM radio...to rank higher than a three in the Odyssey.

Best tracks: Little Green Bag, Hooked On a Feeling

CD Odyssey Disc 115: Roger Waters

Man, that last review really made me question whether nineties concept albums are a good idea. Fortunately, the Gods of Randomness responded by giving me an artist who has a bit of a stronger track record on making them.

Disc 115 is...Amused to Death
Artist: Roger Waters

Year of Release: 1992

How I Came To Know It: Like most people I am familiar with Roger Waters through Pink Floyd, but this particular album was a combination of me liking the radio single, "What God Wants" and the recommendation by my buddy Craig, who is an avowed fan of both Pink Floyd and Roger Waters. Thanks, Craig!

How It Stacks Up: I actually have two Roger Waters albums; this one, and 1984's "The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking". Despite the fact that the latter's cover features a woman wearing nothing except a red backpack, I am still going to say I prefer "Amused to Death".

Rating: 3 stars.

Roger Waters knows concept albums. Remember, "The Wall" is principally this man's brainchild (don't be mad David Gilmour, I'll say nice things about "Momentary Lapse of Reason" when I roll it).

Of course, "The Wall" is an iconic record - and "Amused to Death" pales significantly in comparison. But taken on its own, it is a solid piece of work, in the traditional Roger Waters style - by which I mean it is deeply depressing.

As near as I can tell, this is Waters telling the tale of our species - and how he sees our self-extermination as a near-certainty. In his narrative we are basically just apes, who have come to dominate the earth as a species - to the point of developing nuclear weapons - but without any sense of how to possess them responsibly. As he sums up in "Too Much Rope":

"Preacher or poet who was it wrote
Given any one species too much rope
And they'll fuck it up."

Waters combines this nuclear threat, with religious fanaticism, and our obsession with being passively entertained by the television into a thick gumbo of despair. (Mmmm...gumbo). If one of our vices doesn't kill us, he's convinced another one will get it done. He ends imagining aliens finding our planet years after the collapse:

"And when they found our shadows
Grouped 'round the TV sets
They ran down every lead
They repeated every test
They checked out all the data on their lists
And then the alien anthropologists
Admitted they were perplexed
But on eliminating every other reason
Four our sad demise
They logged the only explanation left
This species has amused itself to death."

Like I said - it is a depressing, apocalyptic album.

Musically, it is solid, if overly repetitive (there are three different versions of "What God Wants", none significantly different from the others). Fortunately, "What God Wants" is a good track (my favourite version...Part Two!).

I also really like "The Bravery of Being Out Of Range" which captures the impersonal nature of modern warfare, where someone can kill from a great distance, and never know the face of the enemy.

The album is slightly overlong. There are fourteen tracks, and five of them are over six minutes. I found that by around track ten, I was wanting the story to wrap up. Of course, a happy ending would've been nice - but this is Roger Waters we are talking about.

It is a record that aspires to greatness, but falls a little short. It's still worth a listen or two - just don't expect to be amused.

Best tracks: What God Wants, Part II, The Bravery of Being Out of Range, Perfect Sense Part I

CD Odyssey Disc 114: Elvis Costello

The CD Odyssey does not stop. It can't be reasoned with, and it can't be bargained with. It doesn't know pity or remorse and it absolutely will not stop - ever - until all the discs have been listened to.

Disc 114 is...The Juliet Letters
Artist: Elvis Costello and the Brodsky Quartet

Year of Release: 1993

How I Came To Know It: This is Sheila's disc, and here's a spoiler alert - if you need to hear good things about it, ask her (she quite likes it). At the very least you should stop reading.

How It Stacks Up: We have only one other studio album by Elvis Costello, 2002's "When I Was Cruel" - that one is better. We also have a best of from his glory years in the late seventies and early eighties. As you know, it isn't fair to compare a studio album with a compilation (but here's a hint - it's also better).

Rating: 1 star

I think to be average is easy in life. Consider the third "Blade" movie, for example. To be really bad takes a little ambition - like the third "Matrix" movie. With this in mind, Elvis Costello's work on "The Juliet Letters" is definitely ambitious.

This is a record which is a crossover of Costello's pop stylings, and the Brodsky Quartet playing classical string instruments.

On my first listen, I thought it was a bad and excessively obtuse re-imagining of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" through letters - and that I just wasn't getting it. Thoroughly confused, I resorted to the liner notes (including lyrics).

It turns out it is actually a bad and excessively obtuse re-imagining of a strange story involving a Veronese professor writing letters to some kook who thinks he's corresponding with Juliet Capulet. Now that is actually a good idea - ambitious even! (uh...oh...).

Unfortunately, the lyrics to these songs are a strange and disjointed exploration of the different types of letters people write, very few of which relate to anything cohesive about professor or kook.

The Quartet are the bright spot on the record, and they play with great skill. Unfortunately, each time I am trying to get into their virtuosity, Costello breaks in, singing some hard-to-follow lyrics with that affected-voice of his (except more affected). The story isn't worth following, and so I constantly want him to shut up and listen to the strings.

I did manage to find a couple passable songs - primarily "Jacksons, Monk and Rowe", which at least had a melody to follow. It is (loosely) about a law firm, but I preferred to imagine it was about three kinds of cheap wine. I liked my version better.

I recently have been enjoying Costello's television show (name escapes me) where he interviews musical acts in a theatre environment, and they play a few songs for the audience (with Costello joining in from time to time).

This show highlights the good and bad of Elvis Costello. On the plus side, he is a courageous artist, who - while having his fair share of misses - is always willing to swing for the fences. Our best of album exemplifies some home run songs, which I'll talk about when I review it.

On the minus side, he can come off as a pretentious artist, more interested in seeming clever than in being clever. It always bugs me, because the guy has talent, and I hate it when he loses his own narrative in his zeal to have us look behind the curtain all the time.

So if you like Elvis Costello, go get some of his other albums, by all means. If you like the Brodsky Quartet - grab some of that. But think of them as pickle juice and milk; it might sound creative, but putting them together just makes the whole drink sour.

Best tracks: Jacksons, Monk and Rowe (It is worth noting here that the album has twenty songs).

CD Odyssey Disc 113: Queen

After a brief hiatus over Easter, while I listened to some of my new stuff, the CD Odyssey returns along with my daily commute from work (on the way to work I boringly listen to the news).

And to no surprise, the Odyssey randomly selects yet another Queen album.

Disc 113 is...Innuendo
Artist: Queen

Year of Release: 1991

How I Came To Know It: I have discussed how I came to know Queen in many posts. In the case of Innuendo, my buddy (and Queen apologist) Spencer convinced me to finalize my collection. This album is harder to find than you'd expect, and I only just found this used copy at Lyle's about 3 months ago. One to go!

How It Stacks Up: I have fourteen of Queen's studio albums. Although this one comes late in their career, it holds its own admirably. I'll say it is about 8th or 9th.

Rating: 4 stars.

This album really moved me - in part because of its place in Queen's history. I understand this album was the first one made with the band fully aware that Freddy Mercury was dying of AIDS. While I try not to engage in the post-modern tendency to contextualize art through biography, it is hard to listen to this album and not think about how so many songs relate to the hard truth about Freddie's health.

Fittingly, the three that put the biggest lump in my throat are by three different members of the band. While none of these songs, specifically reference Freddie's illness, the connections are hard not to draw. In "Don't Try So Hard", Freddie sings:

"If you're searching out for something -
Don't try so hard
If you're feeling kinda nothing -
Don't try so hard
When your problems seem like mountains
You feel the need to find some answers
You can leave them for another day
Don't try so hard."

Then Roger Taylor adds his take, with the wistful "These Are the Days Of Our Lives", which harkens back to a simpler time:

"The days were endless, we were crazy - we were young
The sun was always shinin' - we just lived for fun
Sometimes it seems like lately - I just don't know
The rest of my life's been - just for show."

And a few songs later, as the album wraps up, Brian May lays a lordly rock anthem on us as foil to the introspection of Taylor, with the five star anthem "The Show Must Go On.":

"The show must go on
I'll face it with a grin
I'm never giving in
On - with the show -
I'll top the bill, I'll overkill
I have to find the will to carry on
On with the -
On with the show -
The show must go on."

The show will never be the same without Freddie, but this album is a great part of his legacy. I've had my issues with enjoying Queen's post-Freddie Mercury albums, but I'm starting to realize it isn't the music that's at issue. It is more of a deep sadness within me, which doesn't want to acknowledge he's really gone.

Fortunately, Freddie will always be with us through music, and while this review has left me thoroughly depressed, I'll end by recommending that after a hard listen to "Innuendo" skip back to track 9 and play it again.

It is a song about Freddie's cat, "Delilah" (like me, Freddie was an incurable cat-fancier). Delilah cuddles, meows and at one point in the song makes Freddie "slightly mad" by peeing on his Chippendale Suite. You see - Freddie wouldn't want us to be sad - so let him entertain you.

Best tracks: Headlong, Don't Try So Hard, These Are The Days of Our Lives, Delilah, The Hitman, The Show Must Go On.

Figurine: Great Horned Owl

I've been painting up a storm lately, and the long weekend gave me a chance to finish yet another figure. This one is an owl.

I like painting regular animals - I like the challenge. I wanted to do this owl up as a Snowy Owl, but he had those big tufts over his eyes, so I thought he looked more like a Great Horned Owl.

So here he is - as a Great Horned Owl:
And here he is from the back:

I actually have a duplicate of this figure, and when I roll it I might do it up as a Snowy Owl anyway, just for variety's sake. Next up: A dwarf fighter!

CD Odyssey Disc 112: The Raconteurs

With the help of a bathroom review and a couple of completed miniatures, March was my most prolific month since I started doing this, with 17 posts.

That said, now it is April, and the CD Odyssey stops for no month - onward, gentle readers!

Disc 112 is...Broken Boy Soldiers

Artist: The Raconteurs

Year of Release: 2006

How I Came To Know It: I can't honestly remember, which is kind of embarassing given we're only talking about four years ago. Probably a combination of seeing the cool "Go-Kart" video for "Steady As She Goes", knowing Jack White was involved, and a good review from a friend. Chris D., maybe?

How It Stacks Up: The Raconteurs only have two albums this one, and 2008's "Consolers of the Lonely". I don't know the latter well enough to say, but I think "Broken Boy Soldiers" is the better record. Besides, it has a judicious ten songs, and "Consolers" is at the upper limit of acceptable, at fourteen.

Rating: 4 stars.

As I noted above, The Raconteurs are a side project of Jack White (of White Stripes fame). I think it is some kind of "super group" where the other members are also from established bands, but I honestly don't know the other guys by name.

Sometimes these super groups sound pretentious, but still awesome (like Them Crooked Vultures) and sometimes they just sound pretentious and overwrought (Queens of the Stone Age). They always sound pretentious. Fortunately, the Raconteurs are in the "awesome" subset.

This album has clear Jack White influences, but is even more in the spirit of 60s classic rock, and doesn't really have the punk edge that some White Stripes songs have.

I found myself thinking about the Beatles on more than one occasion while listening to this record, particularly on "Intimate Secretary" and "Yellow Sun". These songs sound heavily inspired by the stuff the Beatles did on "Rubber Soul" and "Revolver". However, where the Beatles don't always (or even often) engage me emotionally, this record does a much better job of hitting me in the hippocampus. I guess I'll take "Yellow Sun" over "Yellow Submarine" any day - with no apologies to Ringo.

Lyrically, the album is more clever than it is intelligent. Unlike some modern music, the Raconteurs do manage to have emotional resonance, but the writing doesn't quite come together into a strong narrative - more a collection of phrases. That is OK, but nothing really worth quoting.

Nevertheless, this record really grabbed me. There aren't any true duds, and many of the songs are really strong. At the same time, it didn't take me to a new level - it was just rock n' roll back to basics, well produced and played hard.

Best tracks: Hands, Broken Boy Soldier, Together, Level, Call It A Day