Review: Fountains Of Wayne - Sky Full Of Holes

This is a power pop blog. Did you really think I could not review the latest Fountains of Wayne album? Its inevitable, just like death, taxes and Beatles re-releases.

Luckily, for us, Sky Full Of Holes is inevitably good.

If you have heard any of the previous FoW albums, nothing here should surprise you. For all of the talk of "new found" maturity and "serious subject matter" you could read about in the mainstream music press, FoW fans will see more continuity than change. This is fine with me as Collingwood and Schlesinger are about as consistent a pair of tunesmiths as are working today.

OK, to say the album is good is no great surprise either. The question is how good is it? For my money, pretty damn good. I would certainly rate it higher than their previous effort Traffic & Weather. In fact, there are a couple of songs here (namely "A Dip in the Ocean" and "Acela") that come off as "improved" versions of tracks off that earlier effort. It is almost as if they weren't quite satisfied with what they had done, and they wanted to nail it this time.

Mission accomplished.

There is probably a solid half dozen songs here that can rank with the best of their career output. "Action Hero" and "Hate to See you Like This" cranks up the pathos to eleven, but work beautifully. "Richie and Reuben" and "A Road Song" display their customary wit, with the latter's reference to Steve Perry generating a guffaw from your truly. "Cemetery Guns" continues FoW's run of interesting and lovely album enders.

My advice is to enjoy the hell out of this.

Grade: B+/A-

Review: Buffalo Tom - Skins

It's funny what one song can do. I'll admit, Buffalo Tom was completely new to me when I got a compilation disc from a buddy that contained a perfect little pop song entitled "She's Not Your Thing."

After listening to the song twice in a row I said aloud (to myself), "OK I need more of that."

"What was that?" asked my wife.

"Oh, nothing," I replied, ashamed my inner dialogue had leaked out... again.

In any event, it happily turns out I really did need more Buffalo Tom. Skins is a fine pop/rock album. It may not have been exactly what I was expecting based upon the tight Teenage Fanclub-esque "Thing" but the album delivers a boat load of memorable of slightly rootsy rock numbers which often evoke a Toad The Wet Sprocket quality.

"Arise, Watch" probably exemplifies the Toad qualities most explicitly. though the pretty "Don't Forget Me" and straight forward (and classy) "Here I Come" hail from the same zip code.

"Lost Weekend" is a great little rocker in a Blue Rodeo vein, while "Paper Knife" is a nice slice (see what I did there?) of John Hiatt style balladry. "The Kids Just Sleep" pops out late to give "She's Not Your Thing" a run for its money in the competition for best song on the album.

This is a solid album.

Grade: B+

"Love Me Do"

My Beatles criticism project continued:

The song begins with a healthy dose of John's harmonica, with studio session man Andy White's drums and Ringo's tambourine playing the next most obvious presence. Paul's bass is right there but he isn't doing much to make it distinctive.

"Love Me Do" is simplicity itself. The song contains four verses, one bridge and they fit in an harmonica solo as well. Paul handles the solo vocals, but there is a heavy backing vocal to help fill out the sound. It is a mid-tempo shuffle that doesn't have a strong "rock and roll" feel to it. In many ways the song feels like the last stand of the Quarrymen, the skiffle group that grew into the Beatles.

The lyrics couldn't be simpler. "Love, love me do. You know I love you. I'll always be true. So please, love me do." That covers all of the lyrics for all four verses. The bridge adds "Someone to love, somebody new. Someone to love, someone like you." The chord progression also follows a simple G & C chord structure, with a D chord being thrown in on the bridge. Hardly the stuff of virtuoso performances.

Yet, somehow, the song manages to add to more than the sum of its parts. The group vocals are particularly strong. The harmony used on the elongated "please" in the verses is quite gorgeous. They also layer the vocal effectively. When Paul's voice alone sings "Love me do" it contrasts nicely with the fuller vocal sound on the rest of the record. The harmonica also provides a sort of commentary throughout the song. It adds musical interest to a song that might otherwise have gotten monotonous.

Review: Meyerman - Who Do You Think You Are?

The way the whole music review thing usually works is I give you a sense of whether or not I like an album along with some sense of what the music sounds like. The latter is accomplished by making comparisons with other artist's music with which folks may be familiar. The point isn't really to say the music being reviewed could be mistaken in any way with that of the other artists mentioned. It usually just means the general approach to their material is akin to things the comparison artist has done. It doesn't mean if you like the artists employed in the comparison you will necessarily like this reviewed work.

This isn't the usual review. I can say it straight out. If you like the fantastic English band The Candyskins you will dig Meyerman's Who Do You Think You Are? A lot.

I have no idea if the similarities represent an intentional choice or if it is a happy accident, but the parallels are unmistakable. The album begins with the track "Tonight," a great tune which would have easily been at home had it appeared on The Candyskins Death Of A Minor TV Celebrity. There is simply something about the way many of these songs are put together, from phrasing to instrumentation to production, you could sometimes swear you are listening to a band from Oxfordshire and not New Jersey. The groovy "Xrayspex" is another great tune where the Candyskin-esque qualities shine.

This is not to say this material is simply derivative. It isn't. It stands on its own two feet, and kicks ass on its own terms.

"Immaculate Mansions" and "New Direction" cover old power pop subject matters, life in the burbs and the drive for music industry success, but does so with venom and irony as needed. "Bitter End" is a driving rocker that may just be the best thing on the album.

The best quality of this album is the way some tunes are unabashed goodtime sing-alongs (the uber-power poppy "Permission to Rock You" leaps to mind), while others are much more ambitious (the great album ender "Elephants"). This leaves this listener really wanting to hear where Meyerman goes from here.

Grade: B+/A-

"Please Please Me"

My Beatles criticism project continued:

With guitar and drum announcing "da-DUM" we are thrown straight into a quick intro with a prominent theme played on harmonica twice. The first verse enters with John providing the lead vocals and Paul offering harmony vocals in a higher register.

The lyric beings with "Last night I said these words to my girl,' which immediately puts us into a specific frame of reference. Presumably we are to think that the protagonist is telling his buddies about his experiences of the night before. Also one might suppose that he would be telling his buddies not to just inform them of the complaints he had to make ("I know you never even try, girl") but to let them know of his ultimate success. There is no doubt that the singer is a braggart and engaging in some male "locker room" talk.

A lovely guitar riff introduces the chorus, which follows quickly after the short two line verses, with four sets of call and answer "Come On"s. As each call "Come On" is sung the answer rises in pitch and the tension increases. The resulting "Please please me oh yeah like I please you" acts as something of a release.

Throughout the verses and choruses Paul's bass thumps along merrily, Ringo's drums offer killer fills (particularly leading into the bridge) and the guitars offer what I can only call chunky chords...there seems to be a real weight behind them.

After the second verse and chorus, the bridge follows. In it our protagonist offers more of an explanation ("I dont mean to sound complaining...") for his bitching. The man gives and gives (or so he says) and he get's nothing but grief ("Oh yeah, why do you make me blue?") in return. When the song careens back into the verse/chorus structure you are left in little doubt that his little scene will produce the desired results.

Taken as a whole "Please Please Me" is something of a little miracle. The sheer energy and pure joy of it all is undeniable. Even 40+ years later it sounds like the start of something new. Each of the elements, from instrumentation and vocal arrangement, to the memorable melody line and harmonies, work perfectly. Just like the guy's complaining.

Review: Scott Gagner - Rhapsody In Blonde

We all require different things from our music from time to time. Sometimes we need it raw and ready, other times we need it soft and comfortable... hmm... sort of sounds like like something else we all need from time to time.... but I digress.

There are times my ears ache for something highly polished and downright slick. Scott Gagner's "Rhapsody In Blonde" is about as slick as it gets. This is achieved not only through the full round sound - though the production values are top notch here - but also through Gagner's songwriting which comes across as effortless and silky smooth.

"I Hate To Say" begins things with a Lenny Kravitz vibe placed atop a lyric filled with slightly twisted maxims and cliches. The juxtaposition is a clever one and just ironic enough to not become too jokey. "Laura No. 1" is a joyous pop tune with echoes of Kristian Hoffman's best work. "Houdini" is a pretty song with a deep sonic texture reminiscent of the softer side of Jason Falkner.

Kravitz... Hoffman... Falkner... those names should give you some idea of the terrain being covered here, though Gagner definitely has his own voice even on his cover of the GnR classic "Sweet Child o' Mine," which actually comes across as sticky sweet... in a good way.

I must say, however, I'm not sold on the sequencing of the disc. The flow of the album is dominated by stretches of slower songs one after another, only really broken up in the second half of the album by the back-to-back up-tempo numbers "Take Two" and "Ride." The softer material can wash out a little as a result... though when there is a gem like "Houdini" in there it is worthwhile to pull them out of context so each can shine on its own.

Grade: A-

"Ask Me Why"

My Beatles criticism project continued:

Whatever can be said about this Lennon & McCartney tune, it's not rock and roll. From its light almost latinesque rhythms and percussion to the "woo woo woo woo"s of its vocals, "Ask Me Why" is the very essence of "pop" music.

The verses begin with the boys singing "I Love you - woo woo woo woo" followed by Lennon alone singing "Cause you tell me things I want to know." This trading of vocals back and forth is prevalent throughout. When an almost stuttering Lennon ends the fist (and third) verse with the words "I,I,I,I should never, never, never be blue!" you can be forgiven if you think it's not the most compelling lyrics you've ever heard.

An abbreviated bridge follows the second verse, and the latin feel of the song is reinforced. You almost want to add a "cha cha cha" to the line "I can't conceive of any more [cha cha cha] misery." Actually, that might have added a needed bit of spice. As it is the line falls flat.

The chorus, if such it can called, is nearly anti-climatic. "Ask me why, I'll tell you I love you, and I'm always thinking of you." Nice sentiments maybe, but in the context of this song they couldn't sound less convincing.

As a piece of pop music "Ask Me Why" is forgettable filler.