Review: P. Hux - Tracks & Treasure Vol. 1

You know the drill.

Any recording artist who has been around for awhile, especially in our current fragmented music scene, collects odds and ends over time. A culled album track here; a tribute album cover there; and dusty demos everywhere. Eventually a critical mass of them accumulate and out comes the Rarities Collection no one except die hard fans was clamoring for.

As I said.... we all know the drill.

Luckily, no one informed P. Hux of this, as his Tracks & Treasure Vol. 1 rises above the usual fate for these kinds of albums. In fact, Tracks & Treasure sounds more like a planned album than most efforts you hear these days. Some of this has to do with the consistently high quality of the songwriting, but there is also the continuity of sound P. Hux has employed since at least the late 1980's.

The 10 listed tracks contain a good half dozen songs which will appeal to anyone who has enjoyed P. Hux's long players. "Things Could Be Worse" is a rocker which could have easily fit in on P. Hux's classic 1995 album Deluxe. "My Girlfriend" and "Kifissia Girls" are brash loud tunes, fully realized recordings of the sort you rarely find amongst odds and ends and leftover bits. Huxley even revisits his earliest days in a terrific reworking of "The Air Gets Colder" by his early band The Blazers - he even tacks on the original as a hidden track just so we can all hear how he has always had it.

On the album only the classy Badfinger cover "Perfection" and the cheery 30 second throwaway "Pop Dreams" lets the listener in on the varied origin of the material here, but they are so well done they simply fit in perfectly.

All in all, this is a very solid effort. And you don't even have to be a Parthenon Huxley fanatic to get it.

Grade: B+

"Baby Its You"

My Beatles criticism project continued:

This classy cover of the David/Williams/Bacharach composition (also done by The Shirelles) shows just how much the Beatles were a band of their time. The opening "Sha la la la la la la" performed by the backing vocalists (George most prominent), places the song not only in terms of style but also in an entire era of music.

Lead vocals are handled by John, whose approach is both tender and firm. The lyric explains to a girl why she is the only one for the singer. It is straightforward enough. That it works so memorably here is due to the subtle sense given that this is the first time the singer could truly say this. There have been other girls (why else would he say "It's not the way you kiss, that tears me apart"?), but now he only wants the one. ("What can I do? Can't help myself! 'cause baby it's you.")

This is not to say the girl is worth it. It becomes clear that she is probably not quite as sold on our protagonist as he is on her. ("You should hear what they say about you - cheat - cheat - cheat")

The arrangement has a nice mid-tempo rock and roll feel. The drums and vocals propel the song forward nicely. There is something inexorable about the whole thing. Even the slight organ and guitar solo adds to the feeling that this all has to end in tears. ("Don't what nobody, 'cause baby it's you.")

Review: David Myhr - Soundshine

Expectations are funny things. From the early video release of the David Myhr track "Got You Where He Wanted" and the appearance of "Loveblind" on last year's International Pop Overthrow comp I felt I knew exactly what to expect from the full release.

Then I put the album on and was greeted by a very slick (and very poppy) tune straight out of the 1980's. In fact, "Never Mine" has an air of Hall & Oates about it. There is nothing wrong with that, per se, but it definitely wasn't what I was expecting. (I remember having a similar experience putting on Jellyfish's Bellybutton for the first time. "The Man I Used To Be" was a shock going into the album knowing/expecting "That Is Why" and "The King Is Half Undressed".) Of course, that is kinda the point when listening to a whole album (and something that is sadly getting lost in this age of digital downloads.) Over the course of 10-12 songs an artist can take us where they want to go, and if, at first, the listener finds himself in unfamiliar territory I've found its best to just relax and enjoy the ride.

Soundshine is quite the excellent ride.

Myhr, as if sensing a comforting sound might help those who already know some of his work, quickly moves into the lush Merrymakers pop of "Looking For A Life," which really is the only track here that would fit seamlessly on an album such as Bubblegun. The aforementioned "Got You Where He Wanted" and "Loveblind" stake out an uptempo pop vibe which would have to be described as more "indie" than "power pop," but which fit the material perfectly.

Other stand out tracks include the McCartney-esque pair "The One" and "Ride Along" and the stunning "Don't Say No," which is in the running for my favorite tune of the year so far with its Harrison-esque melody line and sing song chorus. In fact I may have to stop writing this review to listen to it again.....

O.K.... I'm back. (And, yes, I really did.)

In fact the closest thing to a real misstep here is the song "Icy Tracks" which is so chock full of juicy pop hooks it can be forgiven if Part A of the chorus is a little "blah" compared to Part B.

If one goes into this album hoping for another Merrymakers album it will probably disappoint. However, if you are open to where a talented songwriter wants to take you I promise you will love the journey.

Grade: A-/A

Review: Cotton Mather - Kontiki (Deluxe Edition)

I'll set the scene:

It's December, 1997 and I'm living in the Washington, D.C. area. The daily mail has brought into my greedy possession the new Cotton Mather album Kontiki, and I take it, sound unheard, over to my buddy Tony's place. Tony, a sometimes Austin resident, had introduced me to the Cotton Is King album a couple years earlier and I decided to pay back that kindness by listening to the new album with him over a few beers.

We slip the disc into the player and press the little green triangle... and are transported.

So, it is safe to say when it comes to Cotton Mather I was an "early adopter." The success the album enjoyed, at least in Britain, was heartening to see, though I don't think I appreciated the cult status the band and particularly Kontiki was developing. It only dawned on me years later just how few people had actually bought the thing when it was available, and, if the prices copies were commanding on Ebay were any indication, plenty of people were lamenting that fact.

Well, now they have the chance to get it right, because 15 years after its first release Kontiki is available again, this time in a Deluxe 2-Disc edition. It is hard to think of an album from that era more deserving of such a classy rebirth. And, classy is exactly what this package is. It starts with an attractive and informative 24-page booklet, which contains not only an overview of the recording process, with remembrances from most of those involved, but also notes on all the original tracks as well as the bonus material.

The album itself sounds as fresh as the day it was released proving, as if it needed it, its status as a seminal 1990's power pop classic is well deserved. I cannot say if the sound quality has been improved on this release as I'm not really an audiophile. Rest assured, it still kicks ass.

The bonus material is well worth the purchase price for those who already owned a copy of the original release. The demo versions of Kontiki songs are sufficiently different to make for engaging listening. Tracks like "Little Star" and an amped up version of "Altar Boy" (a track from their wonderful Hotel Baltimore EP) shine here. The inclusion of the wistful "Innocent Street" is a perfect gift for those who preferred the mostly Squeeze-ish sounds of their first record. Indeed, the bonus material is so good the disc will be listened to in its own right and not just as a curiosity.

Do yourself a favor. Buy this album.

Grade: A+

Review: The Well Wishers - Dreaming Of The West Coast

Consistency is a great thing, especially when it comes to artistic endeavors. Musicians so often are afflicted with wild swings in mood, temperament, interest level or even taste that their work can be a roller coaster of thrilling highs and disappointing lows. As a result the artist that puts out consistently good work is something to appreciate.

Jeff Shelton's project The Well Wishers was a prototypical example of such consistency.

Until now.

Dreaming of the West Coast is not a solid body of good work consistent with the rest of The Well Wishers' catalog. No, its way better than that.

From the first note of the jaunty opener "Escape the Light" to the fade out (and fade back in) of the wonderful Sugar-esque album ender "Mother Nature" Shelton is firing on all creative cylinders here. The result is the first Well Wishers album that really doesn't lend itself to the easy comparisons (for example The Posies) that would have sufficed when reviewing the earlier albums. The influences are so organic here it winds up sounding most like itself.

Thus you can hear the glam rock beat in the track "Tonight" but the song itself is something entirely different. This high quality in the songwriting stands out throughout the album. The introspective tunes "Nothing Ever Changes Around Here" and "Truth Is Coming Home," as well as the blistering "All I Got" deserve special mention in this regard. Add a fab cover of Smoke's "Have Some More Tea" and you are in "more fun than a barrel full of monkeys" territory.

Grade: A

Speaking Of Kickstarter...

...I recently supported a project called Jarinus, made up of Jarret Reddick of Bowling For Soup fame and Linus Doton of Linus of Hollywood fame. (Which reminds me I forgot to put a widget for Jarinus up on here. Oh well, they made their goal with room to spare without it.) As part of the package the guys answered a question via mp3 that I had put to them. It's fun.



Linus has always been a good friend to the station, going out of his way to make nice promos/bumpers for the Pub, which I still use because they are awesome.

Keep your ears open for Jarinus. It promises to be hugely entertaining.

Don't Get Me Wrong...

...I love what Kickstarter does, as shown by the fact I've contributed to a couple of successful projects - and one unsuccessful project, the sadly under supported Smith Bros. album.

However, whenever I peruse the site I begin to feel like I've stumbled into a Portlandia sketch.