CD Odyssey Disc 1736: The Cramps

A long day ends with…a Bruins win! We head back to Boston for game six against the much-hated (by me) Florida Panthers.

Now…on to the music. This next album has been in my car almost a week as I tried to catch up on work, life and everything in between.

Disc 1736 is…Look Mom No Head!

Artist: The Cramps

Year of Release: 1991

What’s up with the Cover?  A fun house full of booze hounds! Actually, it is just the one booze hound – its all done with mirrors.

Our cover girl still appears to have her head, but pounding down that bottle of hard liquor will sort that out soon enough. As the Cramps sing on “Blow Up Your Mind”:

“Ain't you a little too healthy, mm?
Drink some bad wine
Trap some bats in your belfry
and blow up your mind!”

How I Came To Know It: I came to the Cramps through a Canadian band that they inspired called “The Creepshow” and worked my way backward from there. This led me through a journey into the delightful musical genre of psychobilly. The wellspring of all things psychobilly is the Cramps, and swimming upstream, I naturally arrived there.

How It Stacks Up: I have five Cramps albums, and they are all awesome. It pains me to put “Look Mom, No Head!” in the lowly position of fifth, but they are all that good.

Rating: 4 stars

When you invent a style of music that inspires generations of musicians to follow, you’ve probably done something right, and the Cramps are an inspiration to all that live the unbridled life of rock and roll, and to do it without apology.

For those of you who don’t know what psychobilly is, it is a Frankenstein’s Monster of punk rock, rockabilly, mixed with a B-Horror film sensibility. Imagine Elvis Presley if he were a sex-crazed lunatic high on LSD. Sounds awesome? Then the Cramps are the music for you.

It all begins with lead singer Lux Interior, lasciviously eating up every inch of real estate a Cramps song can offer (which is a lot). Mr. Interior (definitely his real name) has a voice that sounds like he was born for the stage, but the stage wasn’t cool enough for him so he instead sold his soul to rock and roll.

The Cramps double down on sex, drugs and rock and roll in a way few bands can match. Songs like “Bend Over, I’ll Drive” and “I Wanna Get In Your Pants” are about exactly the things you think they’ll be about, and written with intent to push boundaries and barriers, and to have fun doing it.

The fun is an important part of the formula, because the Cramps seem to have a very good time, and the songs are edgy but very much tongue in cheek. They dare you to take offense and if you don’t you’re rewarded with membership in their club of strange. Everyone’s welcome as long as you accept that everyone is welcome.

Musically, these songs have that flat and frenetic delivery of traditional punk rock, but absent the anger. They are also incredibly tight as a band. Guitarist Poison Ivy (definitely her real name), bassist Slim Chance (ditto), and drummer Jim Sclavanos (likely a pseudonym) have a natural talent for sitting down at the front of the pocket with the perfect timing that rockabilly requires to deliver its driving energy. It isn’t the same lineup the Cramps started with in their glory days but it is still a solid set of musicians.

The songs have a theatrical flair to them that goes beyond the glamorous grotesqueries of Lux Interior, but underneath it all is a band with a willingness to experiment with various forms of rock and roll, secure in the knowledge that five albums and over a decade into their career their legacy was secure.

I loved this record, and despite almost a full week with it in the car I never tired of it. Even weaker tracks like “Alligator Stomp” and “Don’t Get Funny With Me” have a delightfully dark kitsch that makes them fun. Musically, “Look Mom No Head!” isn’t as raw and powerful as some of their earlier work, but it has just as much gusto, and I had just as good a time. Give them a chance and you might too.

Best tracks: Dames Booze Chains and Boots, Two Headed Sex Change, Blow Up Your Mind, Miniskirt Blues, I Wanna Get In Your Pants, Bend Over I’ll Drive

CD Odyssey Disc 1735: George Michael

I’ve had a long day filled with multitasking, but I’ve got one more task in front of me – get through this accursed record and move on to something better! No doubt many will disagree with the 900 words or so that follows, given how this next record was such a critical darling. Alas, you are reading my review, and not all those more favourable ones.

Disc 1735 is…Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1

Artist: George Michael

Year of Release: 1990

What’s up with the Cover?  A bunch of people in a crowd, maybe at a George Michael concert. Wherever they are it looks hot as a lot of them have their shirts off, are wearing shorts, or both.

They’re still smiling, which suggests the show hasn’t started yet.

How I Came To Know It: This is one of Sheila’s thrift store finds, which she snagged for a lowly $4. I expect it felt like a good deal at the time.

How It Stacks Up: This is our only George Michael album, so it can’t stack up against anything. I hold out hope that one day Sheila will find “Faith” in the thrift store and it will fare better, but for now, here’s where we are.

Rating: 2 stars but barely

Reader, I listened without prejudice as instructed. If anything, I was genuinely excited to be won over by an artist I reviled in the eighties, as has happened with any number of other artists (see reviews for U2 and the Police as two salient examples of me freely admitting to my past wrongs). Instead, I found myself fervently hoping I’d never have to hear whatever “Vol. 2” might sound like. Fortunately, Michaels never released that as a record. Small mercies indeed.

As for “Vol. 1” (and only), it doesn’t 100% suck, so before we unleash any vitriol let us consider those rare but notable parts of the record that are good. It won’t take long, but it’s worth the journey.

First and foremost is the album’s most remembered song, “Freedom”. This song has combination of syncopated percussion underpinning it that is nothing short of revelatory. It can’t even be called a pop hook, it’s just a collection of cool beats and a few organ notes alchemically mixed up into awesome-sauce. The actual hook comes much later with the chorus of “I don’t belong to you/and you don’t belong to me” and then another hook with the church choir-like delivery of “freedom!”

It is such a great song that it pains me to note its painful six-and-a-half-minute length. I was good with a solid five and half minutes, but that last minute. That was a minute too far, George. That moment was a microcosm for the record which is 48 minutes long but drags on as though it were 84. It’s the start of the nineties and it feels like George Michael is channeling the bloated “CDs hold more” quality of records that would follow.

The song that follows “Freedom”, “They Won’t Go When I Go” is another solid track. Just piano and and Michaels’ powerful vocals. This song is haunting and beautiful as well. Kudos.

It went downhill from here.

It all starts (ends?) with “Something to Save” a song that has all the overwrought qualities of Jason Segel’s vampire puppet show song “Dracula’s Lament” from “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” (listen here) but none of the boyish charm, and absolutely no vampires. “Dracula’s Lament” made me want to see the full puppet show the actual movie only hints at. “Something to Save” hints at the overbearing, self-absorbed sickly-sweet collection of songs that will follow. Yes, George Michael has a great voice, but this song feels like it wants to be a Freddie Mercury ballad but is lacking the lyrical and melodic creativity to pull it off.

Immediately following this we get a brush on drum swish of jazz-adjacent fuckery on “Cowboys and Angels”. This monster is over seven minutes long and does not have the inherent charm and creativity of “Freedom” to hold it up for even half that. The last third throws in some wandering sax solo action as if to remind you one last time of the worst innovation to pop music the eighties ever invited is still alive and well into the new decade.

A few songs later, Michael doubles down on bad arrangement choices, with a jazz flute on “Soul Free” that had me wishing my soul was free. Free of my body, so I wouldn’t have to listen anymore. But just like Dracula in “Dracula’s Lament”, “die, die, die…I can’t”.

George Michael sings with full conviction and gives it his all in an authentic way (earning the album a second star along the way) but it is an authenticity wasted on songs that circle aimlessly around musical concepts that feel laboured and repetitive. Like a knight earnestly indicating that he’s about to go forth and undertake heroic deeds but instead just keeps sitting there on his horse staring into the middle distance: it briefly feels majestic until you realize nothing else is going to happen.

Well, something is going to happen, George, and that something is me parting company with this record. With sincere apologies to the one great song on the record, may “you don’t belong to me, and I don’t belong to you” be true as soon as fucking possible.

Best tracks: Freedom (for about 5 minutes), They Won’t Go When I Go

CD Odyssey Disc 1734: Heather Maloney

I’m settling into a “rest and recovery” weekend with Sheila. A lot of long days at work and multiple commitments and responsibilities has me knackered and so I’m taking a couple of days and recharge the batteries. One of my main sources of recharge is (unsurprisingly) music – here’s the latest on that front.

Disc 1734 is…Just Enough Sun

Artist: Heather Maloney

Year of Release: 2017

What’s up with the Cover?  An annoying little kid (I’ll guess a young Heather Maloney), with the expression that annoying little kids get right before they opine, “I’m bored!”

I know what you’re thinking – that I too was once an annoying little kid who complained about being bored. Gentle reader, this is not true! I sprung fully grown from my father’s forehead. Dressed in a suit.

How I Came To Know It: I discovered Heather Maloney in 2015 when I read an article about her in a magazine (a physical magazine, no less). I loved her album from that year, “Making Me Break” (reviewed back at Disc 1200) as well as the one before that. This was just me buying her latest record based on that past success.

How It Stacks Up: “Just Enough Sun” is only an EP, but I’ve decided at 6 songs and 25 minutes it has enough going on to count. On that basis I have four Heather Maloney albums, and “Just Enough Sun” comes in at #2.

Rating: 4 stars

Rest easy, you’re in the arms of a Heather Maloney album. Whatever kind of bad day or tough experience you are having, Maloney’s voice is a soothing balm for your troubles.

On “Just Enough Sun”, Maloney is up to her usual tack, exploring the twisted and complicated terrain of the human heart with a combination of honesty and optimism.

The record begins with “Let Me Stay,” a songwriting masterclass that ticks all he boxes that make up a perfect Heather Maloney song. The song is an emotional journey of returning to your parent’s house as an adult, and the odd combination of familiarity and detachment when you stay in your old room, this time as a guest.

“Let Me Stay” is structured around key images, chiefly how the paint has changed over the years from when the room was Heather’s, then her brother’s and finally, a place for her mother to keep her artwork and her old Alvarez guitar. The guitar draws Maloney in and ultimately, inspires her to compose this song of love and memory and the deep contemplation of what it means to be a guest, ultimately coming to the conclusion that “even our bodies are places we stay” and then the realization “I am a guest in every room I’ve ever known.”

Musically, “Let Me Stay” has a structure that starts high, stepping down lightly through mostly major chords, creating a pensive feeling that is part nostalgia and part acceptance. The melody leads you down this path as surely as Maloney’s sweet, lilting vocals and the words. It’s a perfect song.

Nothing from here is as good, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other great moments. Maloney takes a turn to old school country on “Something Worse than Loneliness” a song with a healthy dose of sadness that Maloney still somehow makes comforting and that features some delightful work on the guitar.

Maloney surprised me with “Albert 1 – 5” a song about the first five monkeys we fired into space, from the perspective of the monkeys involved. It isn’t my favourite song, but it did make me feel bad for a bunch of monkeys that died 60+ years ago, which I think was the intent. Mission accomplished for the song. Not for the monkeys, though – none of them survived re-entry.

Sometimes Maloney’s lyrics feel like a Zen master, stories that leave you mulling just exactly what it means, but also convinced some truth has been revealed to you. One of my favourite examples are these lines from “Bullseye”:

I heard a story, a master of archery
Giving a lesson at the edge of the shore
He pulled back his bow to its fullest arc
And with total focus in his mind and heart
He let the arrow free into the middle of the sea
And then he said "bullseye!"

To get really dark Maloney needs an assist from Bob Dylan. On a cover of “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall” she gets apocalyptic with an assist from collaborator Ryan Hommel on some well-placed harmonies and first-rate guitar strumming (Maloney is no slouch on the guitar either). The arrangement of the song has a natural build that perfectly matches Dylan’s structure, and Maloney’s big bold delivery fill your heart with all the complex emotions the song demands of you.

Heather Maloney played a concert near where I live in 2018, but it was an overnighter and work commitments prevented me from going. I’ve always regretted missing this show, but even a recorded version of her is a salve against the hard edges of the world, and she remains one of my favourite folk singer-songwriters of all time.

Best tracks: Let Me Stay, Bullseye, Something Worse Than Loneliness, A Hard Rain’s A Gonna Fall 

CD Odyssey Disc 1733: Carsie Blanton

I just finished watching my Boston Bruins lose Game six, during which I experienced plenty of both of the emotions expressed in the title of this next record. The less said about the outcome, the better.

Disc 1733 is…Love & Rage

Artist: Carsie Blanton

Year of Release: 2021

What’s up with the Cover?  It was 2021 so whatever you were doing out on the sidewalk – even if it was just lying down -  hopefully you were wearing a mask like these kids here.

What they aren’t doing is keeping a minimum distance of six feet, but given where that dude’s arm is nestled, I’m going to guess these two were already in each other’s bubble.

Remember when all those terms like “minimum distance” and “bubble” meant something? Yeesh. How much do I not miss the pandemic.

How I Came To Know It: Originally my friend Brennan introduced me to Carsie Blanton. This record was well into my love affair with her music, and I’ve been wanting to buy it since it came out. However, Blanton tends to release very few (if any) CD copies and if you miss it, you’re usually outta luck. That’s what happened here. I hung on for a while but late last year I finally decided the CD wasn’t likely to happen and downloaded a few of her recent records, including this one.

How It Stacks Up: I have seven Carsie Blanton albums but one of them (not this one) is an album of stripped down remakes, and so doesn’t count for our purposes. That leaves us with six Carsie Blanton albums, with “Love & Rage” coming in at #4.

Rating: 4 stars

Given how hard I’ve fallen for Carsie Blanton over the last few years I was surprised to discover this is my first review of her work. Since that’s the case, a quick introduction to just who she is feels in order. Blanton is a pop folk singer with a natural talent for writing a melody and clever, edgy lyrics that’ll make you smile and think. I don’t know about you, but I love that combination of smilin’ and thinkin’ and if you do too, then you’ll probably enjoy a Carsie Blanton record.

This was Blanton’s pandemic album, when we were all a little stressed out and prone to fits of love and rage. Blanton’s songwriting makes you feel like she’d be a good person to weather a lockdown with, though. She always feels chill and easygoing, even when she is spewing a bit of nasty.

For a dose of love, Blanton serves up “Be Good”, a song referencing two of histories greatest lovers of the human race – Jesus and MLK. She refers to them both as “dangerous” but it is the good kind of dangerous, the kind willing to put themselves at risk to help out others. Pretty cool. The philosophy she sums up in the chorus:

“Be good to the people you love
And love everybody alive”

Nice. Unsurprisingly, the song has a church choir swing to it. Blanton is a natural at sitting down in the pocket and letting the song sway her, and “Be Good” is a natural finger snapper of a tune. Also, it makes you feel good about being human.

She follows it up with the much more personal “All My Love” one of many crooners where she expresses devotion for someone that is clearly more than “everybody” in terms of importance.

When she turns to rage, she does it with equal commitment. “Shit List” is a nasty song about every old out of touch asshole you may have ever met. Blanton loves deeply, but as she demonstrates on “Shit List” if you cross her lines of decency, she’ll call you on it.

Blanton’s vocals are sugary and playful, with more than a bit of smoke. At the same time she sounds personable and approachable. Half lounge singer, half late-night at a party girl, pulling out a guitar and entertaining whoever’s still there come 2 a.m. She doesn’t sing with huge power, instead relying on great tone and an innate sense of timing to serve the narrative of each song.

The album is more stripped down than some of her other work, which was a common feature of the pandemic years where it was a pain to safely bring a bunch of musicians into a studio and have them breathe on each other for 16 hours. It doesn’t suffer from this; if anything it makes it better.

At only 34 minutes the songs are short, sharp and get to the point fast. Because of the shortness of the record I listened to it a good five or six times this week. Despite all that familiarity, I never got tired of it. There are no bad songs, and the best ones are downright inspiring.

Best tracks: Party at the End of the World Be Good, All My Love, Shit List, Ain’t No Sin