CD Odyssey Disc 85: Dar Williams

The last two days I listened to an album that I knew I'd like, but didn't know just how much. Funny how these things can creep up on a fella.

Disc 85 is...Mortal City

Artist: Dar Williams

Year of Release: 1996

How I Came To Know It: I actually discovered this album (and by extension, Dar Williams) from Sheila's "interweb" community. Someone she posted with liked it, and recommended it. Ironically, I'm the one who really liked it - Sheila almost never plays it.

How It Stacks Up: I have two Dar Williams albums. Both are good, and I'd say this one is the better of the two. I had a third album of hers and it was so awful I gave it the requisite three listens and sold it.

Rating: 4 stars

I find it passing strange that during my heydey of folk music in the early to mid-nineties I never knew about Dar Williams. Probably because I was more focused on Celtic folk, and she is more on the Americana side.

Years later, when folk was more of a side interest, Sheila found this gem.

Dar Williams has a sing-song voice that when you first hear it makes her sound a little too "college radio" but that initial disjunction is quickly healed by the refreshing honesty of her songs, and the incredible writing.

There are so many good things to say about this album. It is so fervently written from a woman's perspective, but that just made me enjoy getting emotionally in the head of such an interesting woman all the more.

Many of the songs are about relationships, with a bit of political commentary thrown in - but even this commentary is couched within intensely personal experience.

The crowning jewel on this album is the five star folk song "Iowa". They lyrics are great, but not half as great without the emotional music that accompanies them. Sadly, "A Creative Maelstrom" is not a multimedia experience - and for those who would show me how to make it one, let me offer a pre-emptive "no thank you". So here is the first verse, although I was sorely tempted to put them all:

"I've never had a way with women,
but the hills of Iowa make me wish that I could
And I've never found a way to say I love you,
but if the chance came by, oh, I, I would
But way back where I come from, we never mean to bother,
We don't like to make our passions other people's concern
And we walk in the world of safe people,
and at night we walk into our houses and burn."

This is a good point to note that Dar Williams correctly punctuates her songs in the CD sleeve, and doesn't improperly use or ignore capitals or commas. From the failing hands of an English Literature graduates across this fair and frozen land, I salute you, Dar.

Back to the CD. As I noted above, each of the excellent songs on this album showcase another facet of human relationships.

"As Cool As I Am" is a track about the face we put on to meet women at clubs or parties (I am pretty sure Dar likes to meet women as much as I do, based on a couple good listens).

"The Christians and the Pagans" is a song about a family featuring both these groups, coming together over an unexpected Christmas dinner and finding a lot of common ground amid an awkward moment.

"Pompeii" is a song that evokes the sad display of those killed in the eruption with the suddenness and permanence of something ending.

"The Ocean" reminds us that our love of others is part of what we have learned since we stepped out of the ocean millions of years ago. It reminds us that it is love and empathy that makes us human, and it is through this intensly direct relationship that we can juxtapose the uncaring vastness of the sea which still calls us back.

"Family" is nothing but a raw and beautiful song about how family is there for us when we need them. As Robert Frost once wrote, "Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in."

And just when I was happily falling into a deep emotional well, Williams does a song like "The Pointless, Yet Poignant, Crisis of a Co-Ed" which is a song about political activism and love gone wrong on campus. If I had been in school when I heard it, I would have declared it 5 star humour. 18 years removed from that experience I still thought it was damned funny.

When I start writing a review, I quickly enter the album on an excel spreadsheet (this is how 300 albums from now I won't have repeats). I also quickly rate it for quick reference, and when I did this album I gave it a 3. However, as I wrote this review and thought about it some more, I had to upgrade to a 4. This is a quality record, that legitimately has something to say, and is not afraid to say it.

Best tracks: As Cool As I Am, Iowa, The Christians and the Pagans, Family, The Pointless, Yet Poignant, Crisis of a Co-Ed, The Blessings.

CD Odyssey Disc 84: Wilco

I knew if I stuck it out long enough, the dice would reward me!

Disc 84 is...A.M.

Artist: Wilco

Year of Release: 1995

How I Came To Know It: I had Wilco recommended to me by a spouse at one of Sheila's office parties about three or four years ago. I didn't go for it right away, but after reading some reviews, I thought I'd give them a try. I bought this album first, because I found it on sale cheap.

How It Stacks Up: I have three Wilco albums now, and narrowly put a fourth back on the shelf during a CD buying rampage last weekend. Of those three, I like "A.M." the best.

Rating: 4 stars.

I really didn't know what to expect when I bought this album, other than the fact that Wilco seem to be critical darlings. Usually this deters me from pursuing it any further. I'm glad I pushed through my usual contrariness and bought this record.

Style-wise "A.M." is first and foremost a basic rock and roll record, but that description alone would sell them short. Yes, the arrangements are pretty simple and straightforward, but within that sound they find all sorts of little ways to sound fresh and innovative.

In this way, they remind me of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. They also have that southern rock sound that I get from Tom Petty. Later Wilco records get a lot more expiremental, and I like those as well, but "A.M." definitely has a special place in my heart for doing more with less.

While definitely rock music, Wilco also works in a lot of country and folk instruments - I'm pretty sure that at various points they use the banjo and the steel guitar. In fact I'm certain - since I cheated and looked in the liner notes. While there I found the album also features the fiddle and dobro in a couple of places.

Jeff Tweedy's vocals have a great honesty to them. This makes his lyrics, which are often intensely personal and introspective, really believeable and lets me react to the record on a strong emotional level.

There are a couple of good break up songs, particularly "Box Full of Letters", which aptly expresses the frustration of...not being able to express yourself:

"Got a box full of letters,
Think you might like to read
Some things that you might like to see,
But they're all addressed to me

Wish I had a lotta answers,
'Cause that's the way it should be
For all these questions,
Being directed at me

I just can't find the time
To write my mind
The way I want it to read"

As a writer, maybe this is why I emotionally connect to this song. Or maybe it is the dreaded division of the music collection that comes later:

"I got a lot of your records,
In a separate stack
Some things that I might like to hear,
But I guess I'll give 'em back"

The horror! The horror!

Other highlights include "Casino Queen" which successfully captures the over-stimulated environment of gambling establishments. Combined with the story of someone losing their license to a DUI in "Passenger Side", "A.M." features two songs that manage to be both a party and a cautionary tale.

The only out of place track comes in the very mellow hollow-sounding "Dash 7". This song is a mood piece about a flight, and while it seems out of place on this album it very much presages the interesting direction Wilco's sound is headed for on later albums. Even though it is a little out of place, it is great to have this survey marker on what's coming.

In the second to last track, "Blue Eyed Soul", Wilco asks us:

"Can you keep it simple, can you make the snare crack?
"Can you let it out without holding back?"

By this point in the record, I found myself answering with a resounding "yes!"

Best tracks: Casino Queen, Box Full of Letters, Shouldn't Be Ashamed, Pick Up the Change, Blue Eyed Soul, most of the others.

CD Odyssey Disc 83: Clannad

OK, this falls into the category of "they can't all be winners, kid. Frankly, I just went on a CD shop and bought seven more albums (yeehaw) and I'm getting tempted to invoke rule #5. I am trying to hold out though, since I prefer to be random.

Disc 83 is...Banba

Artist: Clannad

Year of Release: 1993

How I Came To Know It: I was keen to check out Clannad after I heard they did the theme to "Robin of Sherwood", an old HBO series from the eighties which I really liked. This album was me trying their new album.

How It Stacks Up: Clannad made music for twenty five years, but I've only got three albums, and one of those is a best of. This one is a studio album, and the lesser of the two I have.

Rating: 2 stars - I haven't the heart to give this album a thumb, but at times I wanted to give it the finger.

Clannad is a folk band that is famous in their own right if you are into folk music, but outside of folk music they are known as "that band that Enya used to sometimes sing in".

"Banba" is not one of the albums Enya used to sing on. This album features the singing of Maire and Ciaran Brennan.

I really like Maire Brennan's voice. It is very breathy and soft, but never loses power. I even went out and bought Maire Brennan's solo album back in the day. Man, was I into Celtic folk music.

Anyway, apart from the voice, this album has a lot of flaws. It is way too milquetoast, with boring sleepy arrangements punctuated with annoying saxophone solos that sound like they belong back in the early eighties as some guy croons out "if you get caught between the moon and New York City." Or maybe while you watch Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd make annoying banter on "Moonlighting".

I guess what I am saying is that the saxophones intervention on this album is akin to someone mooning you.

Many of the lyrics are trite as well, like the song "The Other Side" which seems to advocate that everything will be OK if you write it down in your diary:

"When it's gone and you want it so badly
The game of love is a two way street
And from above there comes inspiration
Darkest clouds will disappear.

Take it down and put it in your diary
Come around to the pleasant side
Put it down to another experience
Come around to the other side."

That is just awful - and remembering how I used to find it uplifting fills me with the need to have a shower. I guess I came around to the other side, but over here, those lyrics really blow.

Apart from trying some "new Clannad" I also bought this album for the theme song for "Last of the Mohicans" which was a big movie back in the early nineties starring Daniel Day Lewis as Hawkeye in the adaptation of the famous novel by James Fennimore Cooper.

That movie was pretty good, but I prefer Lewis as Butcher Bill Cutting in Gangs of New York. I mean - if Hawkeye had a clear shot with his bow, sure - Cutting is dead 100 yards away, but if they get in close, I like the Butcher's chances. Also - the Butcher cheats. He'd just wait for Hawkeye to walk down some dark alley and stick a blade in his back. Unless they got along - after all, the Butcher has a thing for "us natives, born rightwise to this fair land" and Hawkeye would qualify.

I just don't think an honourable guy like Hawkeye could do the whole "I'm gonna pretend to like you so I can kill you at your birthday party" trick. And if he did, do you think Bill Cutting is gonna let some guy smuggle a bow into his heavily guarded Chinese restaurant? He didn't even fall for a thrown knife - he's certainly not gonna let Hawkeye go all yeoman on his ass.

Then again - Hawkeye could beat Bill Cutting at his own game by bringing some real Native Americans over for a full on battle for supremacy of NYC. Now that would be irony at its harshest five points!

But I digress.

Back to this album. It is pretty lame for the most part, but I really like the singing, and there are a couple of good tracks - mostly the Gaelic ones where you can't understand the lyrics (The Last of the Mohicans song also features some cool verses in Mohican and Cherokee).

I hope I roll something better next time. Will I sell this album? No - but only because I sometimes need something that sounds like it is sung by elves. Don't ask.

Best tracks: Na Laethe Bhi, I Will Find You (Theme from Last of the Mohicans), Caide Sin Do'n Te Sin.

CD Odyssey Disc 82: Moby

The CD Odyssey is really all over the place these days - we went from rock to swing, and now on to some kind of electronic-pop fusion thing.

Trying to label this album was kind of hard, and got Sheila and I into a serious discussion of what is 'pop' or 'rock' or 'electronica'. This album seems to be two of the three - and you can figure out pretty quickly which two. If not, this post has labels.

Disc 82 is...18

Artist: Moby

Year of Release: 2002

How I Came To Know It: The album before this "Play" was owned by everyone and their dog. We liked it, and so bought the next one Moby put out. Behold, I am dog.

How It Stacks Up: We have 2 Moby CDs (as noted above). I love neither, but like both. I think I like "18" more.

Rating: 3 stars.

Moby and Phatboy Slim are probably the furthest I've ventured into electronic music and still liked it. It has to have some pop sensibilities for me to find the groove. "18" certainly has those, and I'm sure many would not even call what he does 'electronica'. I will, though.

This album has a good groove, and it is well constructed. I like that Moby has a little essay in the jacket sleeve where he asks the listener to give it at least one listen right through as an album. As a major apologist for the lost art of the album, this hit a soft spot.

I didn't like that this same essay refused to capitalize the "I" in "I'm". E.E. Cummings shouldn't do it, and neither should you Moby - it smacks of a false humility.

Lyrically, this album doesn't have much going on. The songs are about the music, not the words. I do like that the vocals are used to strongly evoke emotion, often through a phrase consistently repeated. For example, in "At Least We Tried"

"Oh now baby don't cry
Oh now baby say goodbye
Oh now baby don't cry
Oh now baby at least we tried"

This is a strong track about relationship breakdown, where a very basic line, repeated, underscores the sadness.

The album is not just emotionally true to itself, but that emotion has a good range - by which I mean it isn't just depressing. "Jam for the Ladies" stands out as a funky party song, which had me thinking strangely of Kool & the Gang's "Ladies Night".

I also like that Moby has collected some great vocalists - most of whom I had never heard of, with the exception of Sinead O'Connor who appears on "Harbour". The songs with Moby singing I didn't necessarily enjoy as much - or maybe I just liked the variety of voices. "Harbour" certainly reminded me of how much I used to like my Sinead O'Connor tapes, which I never replaced on CD. Maybe, one day...

The music wasn't organic enough for me - which is my usual complaint with electronica. That said, my other complaint with electronica - the repetition - wasn't a problem for me on "18", I think because the songs are short set pieces. That, and the singing helps the ear break it up a bit.

My main complaint is an old saw - it has 18 tracks. Way too many for an album. Worse, Moby says in his essay that he started with 150 songs and was sorry that he had to cut 132.

Worst of all, he called the album "18". Are you TRYING to piss me off, Moby? Are you INTENDING to break my balls? Cut five songs from this album and five more from "Play" and you'd have another album! You could call it "Ten". Oh, wait - that's taken.

Anyway, despite the length, and the occasional hiccup, for the most part this is a strong record, and I really enjoyed driving around to it for the last couple of days.

Best tracks: In My Heart, Great Escape, Extreme Ways, Jam For The Ladies, At Least We Tried, Harbour

CD Odyssey Disc 81: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Well, another roll of the dice, another sharp turn. This one from rock to swing. As The Tick would say, "Most unexpected!"

Disc 81 is...Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (Self-Titled)

Artist: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Year of Release: 1998

How I Came To Know It: I was swept up in the epidemic swing craze of the mid to late nineties - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy got a big jump from this craze, and many were infected. I think I knew them from the Swingers Soundtrack, which I reviewed way back at Disc 12.

How It Stacks Up: I only have the one BBVD (as they are known) disc. I guess it is fine, but not good enough to buy a second.

Rating: 2 stars, with a thumbs up.

As I alluded earlier, in their heydey, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (BBVD) was pretty big. I believe they even did a Superbowl halftime show, which these days is reserved for decades old rockers only.

BBVD did a pretty good half-time show as I recall, lot's of horns dancing back and forth in unison. A lot better than some of the acts, but not as good as we've had recently with Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction, Bruce Springsteen sliding and taking out a camera guy, and my favourite - Prince playing guitar, backlit behind a white sheet. He played his guitar (shaped like his 'symbol') so that the resulting shadow play made it look like he had a giant "Prince Symbol" shaped penis.

That was by far, the best (and most subversive) halftime show ever. I think most people missed the whole thing, which made it that much better.

But I digress...

Back to BBVD. These guys really like their swing music. They play it with gusto, and they play it well. Every note is on. I think swing really needs this tight orchestration, particularly given the number of instruments involved. As they say themselves, in what is about as talkative as they get on this album, "It don't mean a thing/If it aint' got that swing." They illustrate their point more fully a few songs later by singing "Go Daddy-O!" and then hitting a horn solo.

As you can surmise, this music doesn't have much to say except "have a good time!" That is fine for what it is, and I did have a good time driving home to this the last two nights, including the phantom conducting we all do when we hear a catchy horn riff.

I know these guys are a deliberate throwback to the golden age of swing, when swing was probably pretty subversive and crazy, but to my modern ear, it comes off as a fairly derivative. To which, BBVD would say, "Hey, Daddy-o, don't hate our groove. We are what we are."

To which I would say, "Hey, it's my blog, cats, so it's my groove."

I think part of what makes swing attractive is the whole style aspect - the clothes (I recently bought an electric blue zoot suit which rules!), the mannerisms, the big funky pimp-daddy hats. Referring to a restaurant as a 'joint'.

It is like disco in that it is about the scene, and it is about dancing and having a good time, but it isn't about much else.

So at the end of the day revisiting the BBVD epidemc was fun, but it didn't connect like it did when I really had the fever.

Best tracks: Mr. Pinstripe Suit, You and Me and the Bottle Makes 3 Tonight, Go Daddy-O, Mambo Swing.

CD Odyssey Disc 80: Queen

A third entry from Queen ties them for the lead right now with Judas Priest, KISS, and Townes Van Zandt. Who will win the title of "most albums on the CD Odyssey"? - tune in in 2014 to find out.

For now it is enough to know that I know. You may know as well, if you know me. But if you know, then there is a good chance that I know that you know...Anyway,

Disc 80 is...Jazz

Artist: Queen

Year of Release: 1978

How I Came To Know It: I've covered how I know Queen in previous posts. "Jazz" is just me drilling through their incredible catalogue. I've probably had this album a relatively short time - maybe 7 or 8 years, but that's a guess.

How It Stacks Up: I have 13 of Queen's albums. Much as I enjoyed this listen to "Jazz", I'm going to put it in the bottom 3, depending on how much I am enjoying "Hot Space".

Rating: 3 stars.

It is worth noting that I just said this is one of my least favourite Queen albums, and then I gave it 3 stars. Pretty much even lesser (to me) Queen I've got still qualifies as 'just plain good'.

"Jazz" is the answer to the question, "What if one of the world's greatest hard rock bands decided to reinterpret a bunch of show tunes?"

Obviously, this isn't the case - these songs are all written by Queen, but Freddie worked overtime on themes that make you think of Liza Minelli doing jazz hands. In particular, I can see "Bicycle Race", "Let Me Entertain You" and "Don't Stop Me Now" as broadway hits.

Nowhere is this more in evidence than in "Don't Stop Me Now":

"I'm burnin' through the sky Yeah!
Two hundred degrees
That's why they call me Mister Farenheit
I'm trav'ling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic man out of you."

Don't get me wrong, though - I like these songs, and frankly - every Queen album has a bit of this stuff (let's not forget this band's frontman is Freddie Mercury).

The musicianship is brilliant on this album - with some great vocals from Mercury and I also really noticed Roger Taylor's drumming as well.

As always, just when Freddie is turning everything into "Singing In the Rain", Brian May steps in and delivers a hard rock guitar lick, perfectly timed.

The songs on "Jazz" are musically quite interesting, and are a bit transitional from the harder rock sounds of "News of the World" that preceded it, and "The Game" which follows. At times I feel it is a little disjointed, even though the tracks themselves are great. Maybe it's just that I love the two albums that book-end it, and I want it to sound the same as one of them. I can't put my finger on it - I really enjoy it, but it is a little all over the place - even for them.

Of course, whatever faint praise I may dish out, this album has the five star anthem "Fat Bottomed Girls". This is hands down the best (and most famous) track on this album, this song accomplishes the seemingly impossible task of titling a song "Fat Bottomed Girls" and then not insulting anyone. Instead, this song has caused at least two generations of boys fall in love with big fat Fanny, the Naughty Nanny.

The secret? Freddie sings it like he means it. Every word. In the process, he challenges all our traditional sense of what is beautiful and (just as importantly) rocks out one of the greatest rock songs ever written.

"Fat Bottomed Girls" is actually written by Brian May, which makes Freddie's delivery even more impressive - in this way it reminds me a lot of The Who's "Behind Blue Eyes", written by Pete Townsend, but owned by Roger Daltrey. Unlike "Behind Blue Eyes", "Fat Bottomed Girls" is about having a good time, rather than whatever screwed up psychological problems Townsend has to solve through his music.

Not enough to pull this album up to 4 stars, but it comes close. It probably single-handedly keeps it ahead of "Hot Space" and "Flash Gordon" on my list. But I'll talk about those when I roll 'em (favourably, I'll warrant).

Best tracks:Fat Bottomed Girls, Jealousy, If You Can't Beat Them, Don't Stop Me Now

CD Odyssey Disc 79: Dire Straits

The next disc features what I consider to be the greatest guitar player alive, Mark Knopfler.

Disc 79 is...Love Over Gold
Artist: Dire Straits

Year of Release: 1982

How I Came To Know It: I've known the band for many years - but didn't know this album until Sheila introduced me to it.

How It Stacks Up: Together, we have all of Dire Straits albums - which are 6 studio and 1 live album. It's not that I don't like this album, but I've got to put it 5th out of these 7 albums. There are some strong albums holding it down, but I'll talk about those when I roll them.

Rating: 3 stars.

This album is strong because Dire Straits is such a good band, but when it is compared against other albums of theirs, I think it is a bit weak.

The first thing most people notice is the album only has five songs - and four of those are noodle-fests that range from 6:16 to 14:15 in length. Most of these I could probably cut about 1-2 minutes out of if Dire Straits had invited me into the studio and let me help. I mean - who puts a restraining order on a 12 year old? I think they totally over-reacted.

Anyway, the longest song on the album, "Telegraph Road" is also the best. This song is a rock and roll epic, which follows the fortunes of a town, from when the first person decided to settle there:

"A long time ago came a man on a track
walking thirty miles with a sack on his back
and he put down his load where he thought it was the best
he made a home in the wilderness"

All the way through as the town grows, becomes a mining town, and becomes a metropolis, as demonstrated by one of my favourite lines:

"There's six lanes of traffic
Three lanes moving slow."

Just as the town is fully developed, the song morphs into the story of just one person in the town, who's fallen on hard times along with the town's economy:

"I used to like to go to work but they shut it all down,
I've got a right to go to work but there's no work here to be found."

Until our character just decides to bundle up his woman and head out of town for something better - with another one of the best closing rants in music:

"but believe in me baby and I'll take you away
from out of this darkness and into the day
from these rivers of headlights, these rivers of rain
from the anger that lives on the streets with these names
'cos I've run every red light on memory lane
I've seen desperation explode into flames
and I don't wanna see it again."

This last bit really reminds me of Bruce Springsteen, and there are even musical elements that are quite similar to what Bruce was doing around the same time (The River).

The song goes from being about the fortunes of a town, to the fortunes of a man in that town. I really like how through both words and music, Mark Knopfler shows how we are emotionally intertwined with our community, and how even at its largest, a city is just a collection of individual stories.

"Telegraph Road" is one of my all time favourite Dire Straits songs, yet when I did my own best of albums I had to leave it off...because it was over fourteen frickin' minutes long! Unlike some of the other tracks though, I wouldn't cut it anywhere, and the fact that most of this review is about this one song isn't an indictment of the other four as much as a statement of the quality of "Telegraph Road".

In other news, the hit on this album was "Industrial Disease". Sheila likes it, but I think it is kind of silly - I prefer "Walk of Life" for this jumpy aspect of Dire Straits' music. Personally, I think at 5:49 it was the only song short enough for radio play. Good thing they didn't try to press this record in the sixties.

I would say this album is for Dire Straits completionists only. It is solid on its own, but there are just too many other better records to get first.

Best tracks: Telegraph Road, It Never Rains.

CD Odyssey Disc 78: KISS

More hard rock, with an album that has been in my life for over thirty years, that I still enjoy.

Disc 78 is...Dynasty

Artist: KISS

Year of Release: 1979

How I Came To Know It: KISS is one of the "big three" in my early childhood education (along with Blue Oyster Cult and Alice Cooper). My brother bought Dynasty when it came out (I was 9) and I've been listening to it ever since.

How It Stacks Up: I have 10 KISS albums. Of those 10, I'd say Dynasty is about 4th or 5th best - depending on how I'm feeling at the time.

Rating: 4 stars. This was a hard one. Really, this album is a 3 star album with three kick ass songs, but I really like those songs. I'd like to give it 3.5 stars, but don't do half stars, so I went with 4 for sentimental reasons.

As I said in the teaser, Dynasty has been in my life for over thirty years. I really dig it - it captures KISS at their most bombastic, and self-absorbed (the title is "Dynasty" after all).

Having been in my life a long time, this album has a lot of mixed up memories.

The album's classic and best known song, "I Was Made For Loving You" reminds me of being a kid, when disco was king. The song definitely has strong disco elements, but there's no shame in it - most hard rockers in that period were having a hard time resisting (Alice Cooper did "You Just Gotta Dance" around the same time). I would point out in my house growing up, disco was never king.

In my early twenties I remember dancing to it at clubs - it was still going strong fifteen years later.

And a few years back, I had this weird moment at the wedding of my friends, Tony and Allison. They had a rule that in order to "get them to kiss" you couldn't just tap your champagne glass, you had to recite something or sing a song with the word 'love' in it. Having had a couple (people always seem to sit me close to the bar...) I thought the opening of the song would have been awesome in a slightly inappropriate kind of way:

"Tonight - I want to give it all to you
In the darkness, so much I wanna do
And tonight, I wanna lay it at your feet
'Cause girl I was made for you,
And girl, you were made for me

I was made for lovin' you baby,
You were made for lovin' me."

Etcetera. I regret that I never did it - and it wasn't because I wasn't drunk enough (I was) or that it was inappropriate (when has that ever stopped me) - it was because the wedding was populated with theatre students, who had a run of about 10 perfectly in-tune performances rocking the room and frankly, it was an act a regular joe could not follow.

Give me a time machine though, and my tortured version would ring out, certes.

Anyway, this album is peppered with these kind of lascivious lyrics and over-the-top narcissism that can only be delivered by Paul Stanley. This album reminded me just how underrated Paul Stanley is as a vocalist. I love the song "Charisma", which is like Alice Cooper's "Is It My Body" stripped of every shred of introspection:

"Is it my fortune or my fame?
Is it my money or my name?
Is it my personality?
Or just my sexuality?

What is my...charisma?
What is it I've got?
What is it about me
That gets you so hot?"

In the background, the father of all inflated egos, Gene Simmons, sings a running chorus of "what is my charisma?"

I also really dig "2000 Man" which I had always thought was an Ace Frehley song. But when I looked at the liner notes, I see it is a Rolling Stones song - now I must seek out the original, if there is one.

As great as some tracks are, a few are largely forgettable. But even these forgettable tracks have strong guitar riffs that make them fun to drive to.

I also quite like the drumming on this album - so much so I cheated and checked to see if it was Peter Criss. Apparently it was primarily a studio musician named "Anton Fig".

So if you like KISS, you probably like Dynasty - from the opening "oooh, yeah" of Paul's to the last song as he tells his ex to "save her love", he doesn't want it.

But I did - I kept it in the car an extra day and got two listens.

If you aren't a fan of "Dynasty", I can't understand how you survived being nine. It's hard enough, without rock and roll.

Best tracks: I Was Made For Lovin' You, 2000 Man, Charisma, Magic Touch, Hard Times

CD Odyssey Disc 77: Bif Naked

The next step in the Odyssey is a return to good old fashioned Canadian rock.

Disc 77 is...Essentially Naked


Artist: Bif Naked

Year of Release: 2003

How I Came To Know It: This is one of Sheila's discs. We both heard the song "I Love Myself Today" and liked it - Sheila liked it enough to buy this album.

How It Stacks Up: Although not called "best of" or "greatest hits" that is what this CD is. Therefore, you will know it cannot stack up since "best ofs" can't be compared to true albums. Not that I could compare, as this is the only Bif Naked we've got.

Rating: no ratings for best ofs. It just encourages them. Having said that, I like it.

Bif Naked is a Canadian rocker right in the pocket of hard rock. I think she is from Vancouver, but I only think that because I once saw her do a MuchMusic special where she went shopping with a fan in that city. Maybe she just lives there now.

Watching Bif dote on her dog was unpleasant - it was a very empty Hollywood-like moment - or so you might think if that's all you saw.

But the truth is, Bif Naked strikes me as a very real rocker. In fact, on this album she has a poem (more on that later) called "Eine Tasse Tea" which is a rant that gets going when one of her dogs eats a homeless man's feces. Toy dog or not - that's rock and roll right there.

This album covers a span from 1994 to 2003. Originally, I thought I preferred the songs from 2001 and later, but on my second listen, I realized I liked stuff from throughout her career.

Bif Naked rocks hard, but she also has pop and punk sensibilities at times. Sometimes her lyrics are a little over-raw in a "fifteen year old's poetry" kind of way. Again - this sounds like it would be bad at first blush, but it isn't. It is just Bif Naked is not afraid to show her emotional side and I think this adds to her music.

I'm not sure I'd start a conversation with her that way, mind you. Bif might have a soft side, but she's also tough as nails. I have no doubt whatsoever she could kick my ass.

This album is great in places, but average in others. At her best, Bif Naked is in the fine tradition of Pat Benetar and Debbie Harry. Yet there are songs where the pop-arrangements make one think a little of Avril Lavigne. She also does spoken word poetry, but she's no Henry Rollins. Luckily, this is not too often.

The best song on here is the 5 star anthem, "I Love Myself Today" which is a great rejection of self-loathing:

"I love myself today
Not like yesterday
I'm cool, I'm calm
I'm gonna get my way"

This song rocks out - and in addition to being a great break-up song, it is a great driving song. There are others in like spirit, such as 2001's "Leader" but none nail it like this modern day classic.

A couple of real complaints here that relate more to the album's presentation.

first of all, this album starts with a couple pretty good tracks "Rich and Filthy" and "Back in the Day", released in 2003. These are new songs that aren't on other records - meaning if you were a loyal Bif Naked fan and in 2003 already had all her records, you'd have to buy this "best of" just to get these. That ain't right. In fact, Great Big Sea tried pulling this on me a few years back and I don't think I've bought one of their albums since.

Also, this album has 3 remixes of 3 of her bigger hits ("Spaceman", "Lucky" and "I Love Myself Today"). However all these are is the original song spiced up with a backbeat that sound like they'd fit into some nineties singles dance club. Not a wise decision.

This particular album also comes with a DVD which is not like most music DVDs that come with albums these days (in that it doesn't suck, or make me go on-line to use it). This one is just all her music videos over the years. Since it was an Odyssey I gave these a watch as well, last night. A lot of them are of the concert footage variety - and really show what a fun show it would be.

They definitely reminded me how hot Bif Naked is as well (as though the album's cover wouldn't have done that). She's a babe - and all those tattoos just make her look even sexier.

Not that I would start a conversation with her that way, mind you. She could as easily kick my ass as be flattered. Then again...I think I'd take the chance.

Sheila tells me Bif has been battling cancer. Based on this record, I think she's got something more to offer the world, and I hope she sticks around for a good many years. Hang in there, Bif. In the meantime, I might actually go out and buy some more of her music, based on this little sampling.

Best tracks: Rich and Filthy, I Love Myself Today, Leader, Twitch (many other goods as well, but these are my favourites).

CD Odyssey Disc 76: Cypress Hill

More urban music is at hand. I have a lot of driving to do tomorrow morning, so when I didn't quite finish the latest disc I took it upstairs, and painted figures until I was finished. I think it benefited from the headphones. Anyway,

Disc 76 is...Cypress Hill (Self-Titled)

Artist: Cypress Hill

Year of Release: 1991

How I Came To Know It: As I noted in my first Cypress Hill review back at Disc 57, I heard about these guys because my friend Spence did an album with all the original tracks that were remade on Rage Against the Machine's "Renegades" album. This was the first Cypress Hill album I bought, chosen because it has the original "How I Could Just Kill A Man." It happens to be their first album, but that was just a happy accident.

How It Stacks Up: Cypress Hill has a bunch of records, but I've only got 5. I'd say this one is probably #2 on the list, but very close to #1. Depending on my mood, it is the best.

Rating: 4 stars.

As I have noted previously, today Cypress Hill sings about 4 things. These things are:

• Killin' folks
• Smokin' dope
• Killin' folks trying to steal your dope; and
• Scorin' girls.

However, back "in the day" they only sang about the first three. I could give lyric examples, but I think a few song titles should suffice:

"Hole in the Head", "Light Another", "Stoned is the Way of the Walk", "How I Could Just Kill A Man".

You get the idea.

Anyway, I really like this album, which has some great samples mixed with some funky beats. I think back in 1991, you could sample without legal ramifications. While I'm less a fan of "stealin'" than "rhymin'", there is no denying that it created a lot of great music that couldn't be done today.

In addition to at least 3 or 4 James Brown samples (long live Soul Brother #1), a couple of notable samples are "Duke of Earl" which is part of the bass line in "Hand on The Pump", and Parliament's "Aqua Boogie" which is sampled on "Psycobetabuckdown" - which is the earliest reference to "Buck" I personally have found. It is now used by judges on "So You Think You Can Dance" - meaning it has gone mainstream.

And, yeah - I watch "So You Think You Can Dance" - and not because my wife makes me. I like it. Don't make me get my gat'.

Speaking of "gat'", I think this word is pretty interesting and appears in a fair bit of the early nineties gangsta rap I've heard. I think it is a derivative of "gatling gun" which is probably slang for automatic weapons. I could be wrong on the etymology, but that makes sense to me.

One thing this album would benefit from would be better production - which is why I think their second album "Black Sunday" is so much more acclaimed, even though it really has less artistic range. "Black Sunday's songs aren't better - in fact it has a song "Hand on the Glock" which is largely a remake musically of "Hand on the Pump". Yet "Hand on the Glock" has better production, so it ends up sounding better - and that matters.

This album also has one of my pet peeves - too many tracks, with 16. It would be next to perfect with about 12. I'm not gonna beat this dead horse any further (speaking of beating dead horses, Nickelback sucks).

It makes up for this with some really innovative stuff for its time, and lyrics that range from scary to funny. One that always makes me chuckle is from "Hand on the Pump"

"I'm headin' up the river with a boat and no paddle
And I'm handin' out beatdowns."

I don't know why - but that image is funny to me. (Less funny to the person getting the beatdown, but let's face it - if you can't outrun a guy heading up river in a boat with no paddle, you need to seriously give your cardio some attention).

Bottom line, if I were to try to get someone into Cypress Hill who wasn't sure about Rap, I'd get them "Black Sunday." But for someone who already appreciates rap, I think I'd say to get this one.

And they'd say that they've been listening to it for years - and where the hell have I been. And I would be suitably chastened - and ask them what I should get next.

Best tracks: How I Could Just Kill A Man, Hand On the Pump, Hole In the Head, Psycobetabuckdown, The Funky Cypress Hill Shit, many others.

CD Odyssey Disc 75: Crooklyn Soundtrack

After a run in with some music that didn't hit me in the heart, it was fitting I'd roll something that totally makes me feel great. Also, this is the first soundtrack to a movie I have not actually seen.

Disc 75 is...The Soundtrack to Crooklyn (Vol 1)

Artist: Various

Year of Release: 1994 (with music primarily from the sixties and seventies)

How I Came To Know It: My good friend Nick introduced me to this album (and a great deal of other soul and seventies R&B besides). Nick played this album for me a couple times and I knew I had to have it. He says Vol II is just as good, but I haven't bought that yet. Someday, I'll put it together and I'll get it all done. Someday...

How It Stacks Up: I have 22 soundtracks that will eventually get reviewed on the Odyssey (and a bunch of scores that won't - see sidebar). It seems like I'm rolling them a lot, too. Anyway of those 22, I'd say Crooklyn is high on the list - definitely top 5.

Rating: 4 stars (not really fair to rate a soundtrack, as it is not really an album - but I am rating it as a compilation anyway).

I've had a hard couple of days, coming back to work from vacation and I have to say Crooklyn has been the perfect tonic for the drive home.

As far as the movie goes - I don't know anything about Crooklyn - I've only heard the soundtrack. The only Spike Lee movie I've seen is "Mo'Better Blues" and I didn't like it. That said, I am told that I've seen one of his worst, and I really should make time for "Do The Right Thing" and "Crooklyn". Just haven't yet - and the memory of "Mo'Better Blues isn't helping.

Given that, let's just dive into the music on this album (Vol 1), which is not only excellent, but downright uplifting.

The music is all soul and R&B from the late sixties and early seventies, which is a great period in music. Not that I knew this before Nick opened my ears - thanks, Nick!

The one track that is current to the film is the title track "Crooklyn" which I think is a trio of rappers I've never heard of. This song used to irk me as out of sync with the other music, but this time around I enjoyed it. It fits thematically with the other music, if not musically.

More than anything else I am struck by the positive vibe to these songs. "Respect Yourself" is a song by a former gospel group (The Staple Singers) but it doesn't come off as preachy. Instead it gives some good advice still valid today. Here's a peek:

If you disrespect anybody that you run in to
How in the world do you think anybody's s'posed to respect you
If you don't give a heck 'bout the man with the bible in his hand
Just get out the way, and let the gentleman do his thing
You the kind of gentleman that want everything your way
Take the sheet off your face, boy, it's a brand new day

Respect yourself, respect yourself
If you don't respect yourself
Ain't nobody gonna give a good cahoot

Word.

And one of my all time favourites is Sly and the Family Stone singing "Everyday People" - again, a song that we all need to take to heart. In fact, I'm not sure there is a better song that preaches tolerance than this one - and as an added bonus it is fun to sing along to:

I am no better and neither are you
We are the same whatever we do
You love me you hate me you know me and then
You can't figure out the bag l'm in
I am everyday people

Go ahead, sing along. I did all the way home - including at intersections (if you are ashamed to sing "Everyday People" in your car you are probably ashamed to sing anything).

This album also reminds me of the day when a bunch of us walked around overusing the phrase "Mr. Big Stuff", and loving it. Some would say during the mid-nineties me and my buddies seriously overworked the expression, "Mr. Big Stuff". I would argue it is physically impossible to overwork saying "Mr. Big Stuff." Mr. Big Stuff.

"Mr. Big Stuff" is one of those ironic songs that makes you feel all full of yourself, while pointing out that being full of yourself is lame. It is a lot like "You're So Vain", except with a funky beat. Kind of like Warren Beatty in Bulworth. Get it?

I could go on and on - all the great love songs on this album ("Oh Girl, Ooh Child, Mighty Love) and even a song about a not so great love ("Thin Line Between Love and Hate"). I've got a remake of "Thin Line" by the Pretenders which is pretty good.

Anyway - if this was a regular album, I'd give it 5 stars - but no regular album would have all these great tracks on it. OK - some do - and they get 5 star reviews. Soundtracks, not so much.

So yeah, this is a winner.

Best tracks: Many - Respect Yourself, Everyday People, Pusher Man, Oh Girl, Mighty Love, Mr. Big Stuff, Ooh Child to name a few standouts

CD Odyssey Disc 74: Gorillaz

After all that sixties and seventies rock, the dice provided an interesting tonic for the latest Odyssey edition.

Disc 74 is...Gorillaz (Self -Titled)

Artist: Gorillaz

Year of Release: 2001

How I Came To Know It: Sheila introduced me to the Gorillaz. I have no idea how she came to know them - I vaguely recall they had a couple radio hits along the way, but I rarely listen to the radio. Anyway - this one is from Sheila.

How It Stacks Up: We own two Gorillaz CDs. Of the two, I'd say I like the other one better - but I'll talk about that when I roll it.

Rating: 2 stars with a thumbs up.

I believe Gorillaz is a band that doesn't show their actual faces - instead they all have cartoon personas. It a bit of an odd thing to do, but it is what they like. I don't care if they want to pretend to be cartoons, I'm just here for the music.

Their music is fairly interesting, and I can see why they generated buzz. Most of these tracks (maybe all) are about laying down a funky groove and then having catchy but repititous vocals over top of that beat. I'd prefer a little more range on this album, but Gorillaz certainly know how to do what they do, and in places they stretch their sound into rap, and even a little punk, in the aptly named "Punk".

The big hit on this album is "Clint Eastwood", which quite a lot of people know. It is OK, but seems to have very little to do with Clint Eastwood. The chorus is:

"I'm happy, I'm feeling glad
I've got sunshine in a bag
I'm useless, but not for long
The future is coming on."

I listened carefully, but nowhere did I hear any "feel lucky, punk?" or "shoulda armed himself" or "right turn, Clyde" in the song. For all that, it is a pretty catchy song, and I can see why it was a hit.

There is a lot of this sort of thing - where the song title has nothing to do with the song itself. I find this an annoying affectation of recent music. Just name your song after the chorus - or if you can't bring yourself to do that, then the title should at the very least relate to the songs. If these songs do so, I've missed the connection.

Track 1: repeating lyric: "It's the money'll stop". Title: "Re-hash"
Track 11: repeating lyric: "Get the cool shoe shine". Title: 19-2000"

(I might have these titles mixed up, since it isn't really clear where some tracks end - but that is really just part of the problem).

In the Gorillaz' defence, I don't think these songs are supposed to have a lot of deeper meaning - I think they are just supposed to be groovy. They are fairly groovy, but they don't really move me. Even the song "Punk" is more of an excercise in "Gorillazing" a few punk sensibilities, but not really with a point.

In short, when I listen to this Gorillaz album, I find myself wishing I were listening to the other album of their's that we have, which I think is stronger overall, but never benefited from as big a hit as "Clint Eastwood."

One other note of annoyance - this album has some weird DVD features that makes it hard to upload the music. I still haven't figured out how. I'm not interested in a cartoon video letting me know I have "unlocked the secrets of Murdoc's Winnebago" - since I'm not going to go on line and find out what that is anyway. Hey, Gorillaz! - I don't want to illegally download your music, I just want to put some songs on my MP3 player from an album I already bought. It shouldn't be so hard.

I am not a huge fan of this record, but it has its moments musically, and deserves credit for being different from a lot of what you hear. Hence - a thumbs up, even if I don't put on too much.

Best tracks: Clint Eastwood, Rock the House, 19-2000 (or "get the cool shoe shine" - I think).

Figurine: Cleric of Tuonetar

As promised, I finally finished another figure. One of my favourite things about having some time off from work is being able to sit and paint miniatures. I reviewed a couple albums while painting this guy, so he saw double duty.

This rather angry looking fellow is an evil cleric. Here he is from the front (sexy photo from behind to follow).

Whenever I paint a cleric, the first thing I like to settle in my mind is what god he worships. That helps me decide colours and overall appearance. This time I went with Tuonetar, the Finnish Goddess of the Underworld. I picked her because the book I was using said her symbol was a severed head and her animal, the spider. This book is hardly official Finnish mythology (for that, read the Kalevala) - it just serves to give me something to work with. This guy has a morningstar with a spider carved into the business end, and his "unholy censer" is made out of a severed head. Seemed a good fit.

I continued with my new method of varying up weapons by using different colours for their base coat (this time I used gloss red and then did heavy steel brushwork, to better show off the spider.

Also it makes his mace eeeevil. He is a bad dude. I mean - who makes a censer out of a person's head?

I like this figure's face. He has a great "angry yelling" expression going on. This just shows that in addition to being evil, he is rude.

Here he is from the back side.

I like the many subtle details of this figure's armour - particularly the face in the platemail protecting his hip.

Hopefully with football season over soon, I'll get more painting done. Next one up is an elf ranger, which will provide some nice balance to this guy.