• Ick's Pick,  Prince

    Ick’s Pick (Week XIII): Prince’s LotusFlow3r Set

    This week, Michael joins me for a joint review of Prince’s new 3-cd set, wherein we discuss 2 out of the 3 cd’s in back and forth rapid-fire style. It’s incredible! Enjoy! – Pete

    Michael: I should say at the outset that this is pretty damned critical, and that in reality I’ve had these records on repeat since Sunday…

    Pete: Show of hands, who bought the CD set at Target and still hasn’t removed the Bria Valente disk? I guess it’s truly not 1985 anymore, when I would voraciously devour any Prince-related project put out in a store. But it looks like Bria will have to wait. I’ve got two new Prince albums to play with.

    By the way, where was Bria during Prince’s big publicity week? Three Leno appearances and three shows in Los Angeles, and not even one appearance? Strange. Beautiful strange.

    Pete’s Quick 21st Century Prince Album Review Disclaimer: There is nothing Prince will ever release again that will tap into every fiber of my being like he did with his 80’s output. I – and a lot of others – have a very special relationship with Dirty Mind, Controversy, and Purple Rain; with Around the World in a Day, Parade, Sign ‘o’ the Times, and Lovesexy – and all of the B-sides and outtakes and “related artists” of that era. The guy’s got a huge mountain to climb to ever match those records. It can’t and won’t happen. So having said that:

    Here’s a song by song look at the two new albums…

    LotusFlow3r


    1. “From the Lotus..”

    Michael: Prince has been listening to too much Santana.

    Pete: I hear ‘Rainbow Children’ Redux in this opener. The jazzy groove sounds like it’s sliding right into P’s 2001 album. “Just like the SUN!…”

    2. “Boom”

    Michael: Indistinguishable backwards vocals in lieu of a proper chorus, ever so slightly auto-tuned vocals and wah-drenched leads give the record a kick in the pants to start. Dig it.

    Pete: Agreed. LOVE the guitar and the voice effects. Prince has been tweaking his voice since what – “Erotic City”? The result is always odd & interesting. I’ll take it. Now we need to grab the vinyl so we can play the chorus backward (I mean forward)…

    3. “Crimson and Clover”

    Michael: I just jotted down “Meh” in my notes. I preferred when he saved covers for his aftershows (only).

    Pete: I like it, BUT – I only compare it to the Tommy James original, which I adore. And when P rewrites the lyrics, it’s distracting (like his cover of Radiohead’s “Creep”). Cool songs to cover, but he’s tweaking classic songs. Sure, he’s “Prince-fying” them, but in then end, I just want to return to the originals.

    4. “4Ever”

    Michael: It just sounds like it belongs in a Disney movie. The major progression with the big chorus… it just doesn’t do it for me.

    Pete: Funny, I thought along the same lines. It sounds sanitized and safe. “I can be your future lover / and you can be my future girl.” Prince singing that? Come on, give me the “International Lover” instead.

    5. “Colonized Mind”

    Michael: “All Along the Watchtower, Part II”? I realize I’m being overly critical here, but this just reads like a bitter old man bitching about getting duped with a record deal (2nd verse) in the middle of a perfectly honest social commentary.

    Pete: Nice vibe, but you’re right, Michael. Who really wants to keep hearing Prince bitch about record deals in 2009, besides Prince? We get it, you were a slave to the industry. Boo record execs!

    6. “Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful”

    Michael: I like this one better live, good song though.

    Pete: Not the most memorable of the bunch for me. Emancipation, disc 3. Love the synth though.

    7. “Love Like Jazz”

    Michael: He’s done jazzed-up funk so much better than this.

    Pete: This one grabbed me from the first time I listened to it. I think it had a lot to do with hearing it first while I was driving at night. I love the da-da-da-da da-da-da-da “horn” part that pops up throughout the song. Real horns? Wish I were smart enough to distinguish. Liner notes would’ve been nice. Do I need to pay $77 for those?

    8. “77 Beverly Park”

    Michael: Three instrumental tracks? Really Prince? It’s not bad, it just reeks of ‘filler’ to me. She’s laughing, right?

    Pete: Sorry Michael, I’m fished in on this one. I’m a sucker for his purty instrumentals like “Venus de Milo”, “Alexa de Paris”, and “The Sensual Everafter”. And nope, no April foolin’.

    9. “Wall of Berlin”

    Michael: I wish I knew who was playing drums on this one. Alas no liner notes to give credit where it’s due.

    Pete: How could he fade out in the middle of that drumming madness, right when it’s heating up? This one had me crying for a “Wall of Berlin” extended 12” maxi-single, but P don’t do those no mo’. Good song – a smooth, flowing chorus, funky to rockin’ tempo changes. Cool lyric: “Not one for rituals but one thing I’ve found / everything’s better when u come around”.

    10. “$”

    Michael: With shades of “Let’s Pretend We’re Married” this is the first track on this record to live up to the hype for me. The guitar tone is dope as hell and the horns coming in to sweeten up the deal make this the standout track for me.

    Pete: The money reference had me thinking back to his other “$” song: “Love or $”, the B-side to “Kiss”. I’m not sold on it yet, but this one will be a long term keeper, I can feel it.

    11. “Dreamer”

    Michael: Obvious Hendrix nod does not do anything but uplift this power-trio banger. I’d love to hear this one segued live out of “Papa”… yeah, I know… I’m dreaming.

    Pete: I’m thinking of the same era – “Dreamer” would have fit quite well on P’s Undertaker project, sandwiched between “Poor Goo” and “Honky Tonk Women”. Jimi’s spirit is alive & kickin’ hard.

    12. “…Back to the Lotus”

    Michael: I never thought I’d say this, but I miss the NPG Operator…

    Pete: I like this ending though. Whatever voice alteration gizmo he’s got going here is right up my alley. It’ll take me 120 more listens to figure out what he’s saying. Or should I pay $77? (Hey subscribers, are there lyrics & liner notes in the purple kingdom?)

    MPLsound


    1. “There’ll Never B (Another Like Me)”

    Michael: I’ve been rockin’ this one since it made its appearance on the Lotusflow3r site. Sure, it’s got a bit of New Power Soul in it, but come on… this is so dope!

    Pete: Bring in the 80’s drum machine! You have to think Prince had fun on this album, revisiting the technology he used during his most innovative period. Yeah, this tune is fun, harmless funky Prince.

    2. “Chocolate Box”

    Michael: I don’t even miss him being dirty if he’s gonna bring the funk like this. Q-Tip drops a classic guest verse on this one. More positive use of auto-tune here, I dig when it’s used tastefully. Pop this one on before “Sleep Around” and you’ll get some asses wiggling.

    Pete: “Wherethadrums”? Bringing the funk indeed. If any song this decade has begged for old dirty Prince, this is it. This needs some cussin’ up! I mean, heavy breathing Prince with no “come here baby and let me #*@ your $&#… mmmm, yeaahh”?? And yay for Q-Tip.

    3. “Dance 4 Me”

    Michael: Would not have been out of place on Parade. Dig it so hard!

    Pete: If you’re hip to the old school, this one reminds you of Zapp’s “I Can Make You Dance”. This one has 80’s B-side written all over it.

    4. “U’re Gonna C Me”

    Michael: I’m a sucker for this brand of mid-tempo syrupy goodness (I will readily admit that “Future Baby Mama” was my favorite track from Planet Earth.) I liked the version on One Night Alone, I love this one.

    Pete: Classic Prince falsetto lovey dovey time – complete with the “Beautiful Ones”-type drum sounds.

    5. “Here”

    Michael: Layer upon layer of layer of vocals, springy acoustic guitar, this is straight out of the 80’s purple cookbook.

    Pete: Nice. Laid back. A spoken interlude where Prince pleads: “just believe in me and trust this ride”. Whoever you are, Prince wants you there. Stat.

    6. “Valentina”

    Michael: Funky to a fault. Can you picture a 16 year old Valentina Paloma Pinault listening to this… “Mama, why’s Uncle Prince hitting on you in a tune with my name?” Priceless.

    Pete: Yeah, I’m slow. I’ve listened to this tune about a dozen times, and it took me until today (from Michael’s full name drop above & Google) to figure out that this is about Salma Hayek and her daughter Valentina. I’m slow. Very slow. Salma Hayek:”Curvier than a Fender Stratocaster guitar”.

    7. “Better with Time”

    Michael: Mmm-Hmm. Grown folk’s music!!

    Pete: Another one that sounds like an Emancipation outtake. Not an early favorite at all. Whatever happened to the Prince slow jams that were fun as hell to sing along with? “Adore”, “Scandalous”, “Insatiable”, “Do Me, Baby”… how am I supposed to sing along in the shower to this one?

    8. “Ol’ Skool Company”

    Michael: Dig it… the new MPLSound. Put this one on repeat.

    Pete: Enjoyable, but it seems like he’s trying a little hard on this one. He got the point across in the funkier “Musicology”. But it’s cool to hear him name drop Cee-Lo, Maxwell, and Christina Milian.

    9. “No More Candy 4 U”

    Michael: Would anyone be surprised if he admitted to pulling this one out of the vault circa 1982?

    Pete: Nice closer. A quirky dose of pop-funk. But the underlying theme of the song is Prince’s disdain for others, including: *gasp* “all the haters on the internet / nobody’s lookin’ at you / no more candy 4 u / they got your number now fool”.

    In Closing

    Michael: I certainly have connected with MPLSound more than LotusFlow3r straight off. As with previous multiple disc Prince efforts, this could have been easily edited to a stellar single disc. The guitar heavy LotusFlow3r just seems indulgent when standing on its own. Don’t get me wrong, even a bad Prince record is still a good record, and for all of its faults it has truly redeeming qualities, I just happen to subscribe to the camp that he needs the editorial voice that he’s sorely been lacking in the last decade or so. MPLSound on the other hand is the record that I think most Prince fans have wanted to hear. When “F.U.N.K.” reared its funky head last year it was like a breath of fresh air. This record delivers on the promise of that track (albeit with less piss and vinegar) and a willingness to revisit his past a bit. Overall, I’ve been consistently more pleased with this offering than the last two. Well worth the $11.98!

    Pete: I can’t even say I’m leaning more toward one than the other at this point. Like Michael, I’ve spent the entire week keeping them on constant rotation – and I discover new things and enjoy them more each time. I haven’t been able to do that with a Prince album in a while. His last three albums – Musicology, 3121, and Planet Earth –have their good moments, but I never felt like hearing them as a body of work over and over again. MPLsound and Lotusflow3r are both solid bodies of work in their own right. Could Prince have knocked it down to one album? Probably. But he’s one prolific dude in the studio, and he has his vision. This particular vision is packaged in a $11.98 3-cd set sold exclusively at Target.

    A solid set overall. Now please Prince – get the show on the road!

    BUY the LotusFlow3r set | Visit: LotusFlow3r.com

    Video for “Chocolate Box”, feat. Q-Tip:

  • Electronic,  Ick's Pick

    Ick’s Pick (Week XII): Dan Deacon

    I’m one of the most open-minded listeners around when it comes to music. I can find something to like in everything – from classical to jazz to country to late 19th century Panamanian bordello jingles. So given that this was another “Release Tuesday” in which absolutely nothing piqued my interest, I decided to go way out there. I narrowed it down to Mastodon‘s new album ‘Crack the Skye’ – a progressive metal concept album about tsarist Russia – and the new one from Dan Deacon, a NYC-based experimental electronic indie rocker. After a couple listens to each, I settled on Deacon’s new album, Bromst.

    The All Music review had some interesting buzz words that attracted me to the album – “Noise pop” and the “slowly burgeoning indie rock fetish of voices”, a la Fleet Foxes and Animal Collective. So I took some listens, and I realized this: if I was left locked in a room with this album playing over and over, I would quickly turn clinically insane. All due respect to Deacon and the people who enjoy this music, but this is clearly not for me.

    The song that most leans toward the “fetish of voices” is “Wet Wings”, which brings to mind a creepy hospital ward full of Nurse Ratchetts rambling psychotically in the night.

    There are some interesting moments, when a cool groove takes hold, and you feel yourself getting pulled in. But you quickly realize that surrendering yourself to this music is a sure trip to the funny farm. At least for me. This is some intense shizz… Dan, you’re a mega-talented dude, but you scare me.

    Got headphones? Close your eyes, turn this up, and pee your pants…

    Dan Deacon Padding Ghost (mp3)

    Buy Bromst.

    Links: Official Site | MySpace

  • Ick's Pick,  R&B,  Soul

    Ick’s Pick (Week XI): Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears

    This week’s new releases were a pretty blah bunch as far as I was concerned. I lost my focus listening to Old Californio’s new album over and over. But alas, I committed to listening to one new album every week of this year. So week 11 (xi), here we go.

    It’s SXSW week, and as much as I try to ignore the mountain of e-mails and Tweets and coverage everywhere I turn, the fact is I’m jealous, and I’d drink a gallon of hot sauce to be in Austin right now. I’m shooting for next year as my 1st SXSW experience.

    Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears are from Austin, and they’re playing around town this week in support of their brand new album, ‘Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is!

    This release stuck out from the rest as something I clearly needed to hear: Black Joe Lewis channels his inner James Brown, Wilson Pickett, and Otis Redding for some soul revival craziness. This album clocks in at 30 minutes, and is filled with Lewis’s spirited, good humored (and sometimes explicit) hootin’ and hollerin, tasty retro (60’s) soul grooves, and a great horn section courtesy of some members of Austin’s Grupo Fantasma.

    This one will be perfect for a weekend barbecue and some cold beer. You may wanna grab a babysitter though, unless you want your kids jumping around to “Get Yo S***”, “Humpin'”, and “Big Booty Woman”. You can thank Black Joe for leaving “Bitch, I Love You”, another one of his songs, off this record (don’t worry, Joe’s no misogynist – even you ladies will be groovin’).

    BUY Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is!

    Links: Official Site | MySpace |Twitter

    Take a listen to the horn blasts on “Gunpowder”, the album’s opener…

    Gunpowder – Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

  • Ick's Pick,  Indie,  Punk

    Ick’s Pick (Week X): Cursive – ‘Mama, I’m Swollen’

    This week I thought I’d adventure off to unfamiliar territory again. I just couldn’t get myself all geeked up to listen to the new Kelly Clarkson or Chris Cornell / Timbaland over and over. So I decided on Omaha’s Cursive, mostly because of their label, Saddle Creek, which was founded by Conor Oberst.

    I can affirm, after a few listens, that:

    1. Cursive do indeed rock. And…
    2. Their drummer’s name is Cornbread Compton. That’s reason enough to buy this album as far as I’m concerned.

    The album kicks off with “In the Now”, featuring a feedback/effects laden intro, and launching into the repeated chorus “Don’t wanna live in the now / don’t wanna know what I know”; followed up later with “So history repeats / ‘cause present won’t repent”. It’s short, simple and ferocious, like a lot of moments on this record. I find it pretty cathartic myself.

    “From the Hips”, which the band kindly offers up gratis on their web site, starts off slow, before singer/guitarist Tim Kasher’s squealing “right?!” brings in the up tempo, double beat madness.

    “I Couldn’t Love You” has Kasher channeling his inner Robert Smith – which makes sense – Cursive was picked by the Cure to open for them on their 2004 tour.

    You won’t believe how soft and pleasant they can make a song called “We’re Going To Hell”. But there’s also an underlying doom and creepiness. The song has sort of a Pixies-like vibe going on too.

    And the boys get downright evil on “Mama, I’m Satan”:

    I’m writing out a confession
    My fathers and brothers
    Raped your sisters and mothers
    We are the sons of butchers
    All in all we’re pawns
    The darkness of mankind stirs in us all

    Songs like “Mama, I’m Satan”, “Let Me Up”, and “Mama, I’m Swollen” – and really the feel of the record – take the listener into the darkness – some ugly fugly places. I feel like taking a shower and finding a church, and I’m not even that religious. Holy smokes…

    For those looking for some quality power-indie-post-punk, and aren’t afraid to step into the shadows for a while, this album fits the bill.

    Buy Mama, I’m Swollen

    Links: Official Site | MySpace (be sure to listen to “Dorothy at Forty” – one of the rockin-est grooves I’ve ever heard) | Last.fm

  • Ick's Pick,  Irish,  Rock

    Ick’s Pick (Week IX): Bell X1’s ‘Blue Lights on the Runway’

    I narrowed this week’s pick down to two Irish bands. I figured Bono and the boys have succeeded in completely saturating the U.S. media, and it was a good opportunity to shine the spotlight on another quality band from the Emerald Isle: Bell X1.

    Before I get started, look down a little further in the post for the embedded media player. Bell X1 has done it right, offering a full embeddable stream of their entire album. So go on down, click play, and come on back.

    Bell X1 are a Dublin-based group who started off in the early 90’s as a band called Juniper, which also featured Damien Rice. The “Bell X1” was inspired by the first plane to break the sound barrier (flown by Chuck Yeager way back in 1947).

    Blue Lights on the Runway is the band’s 4th studio album since their debut in 2000. I’d picked up their 2005 release Flock due to a couple of great tunes I heard on Sirius: “Rocky Took a Lover” and “Flame”. So when I noticed Blue Lights, their debut on Yep Roc, I had to take a listen.

    Glad I did! This album has some great moments…

    “The Ribs of a Broken Umbrella” kicks off the album in rocking, synthy, electro-pop style.

    “How Your Heart Is Wired” has an electronic-based rhythm that brings to mind Kid A-era Radiohead.

    “The Great Defector” will have David Byrne fans double checking their iPod. Vocalist Paul Noonan sounds just like Byrne on this one, particularly when the chorus takes flight with the background vocals.

    But it’s the album’s slower moments that really do it for me. “Blow Ins” is one of the best down tempo tunes I’ve heard all year. It takes a look at a subject that fascinates all of us: our mortality: “I am the magpie when all’s shiny and new / I can’t help myself, I pick a pocket or two / And if all time was but a day / We’d show up around midnight and say ‘Hey’… We’re just blow ins / On the storm of time / Yeah, we’re just stopping / For a while”.  Noonan’s vocals shine on this one – really a gorgeous tune.

    “Light Catches Your Face” and “The Curtains are Twitchin'” are two other quality slower numbers . “Curtains”, the album closer, starts off as a minimalist dirge-like ballad – piano, electric guitar and vocals – and ends up sounding like the Dirty Dozen Brass Band broke into the studio – a cavalcade of dixieland brass bursting through the final moments of a great album.

    BUY Blue Lights on the Runway

    Links: Official Site | MySpace

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  • Ick's Pick

    Ick’s Picks (Week VIII): JJ Cale’s ‘Roll On’

    Pumping out these Ick’s Picks every week is making this year fly by. Week eight already? Can someone please tell me how we’re almost in March?? Thankfully, it is my favorite month: Cactus League baseball, a beer festival, and my anniversary. Oh wait, let me reorder, my wife reads this, you know. March is my favorite month: MY ANNIVERSARY, and yeah, that Spring Training and beer festival thingy is all right too, whatever.

    That said, this week’s pick is the new album by JJ Cale. There weren’t any releases this week that had me jumping up and down in excitement, so I decided to take a listen to JJ’s new one, because he’s written some seriously solid tunes: “After Midnight”, “Cocaine”, “Call Me The Breeze”, and “Travelin’ Light”.  These were the four JJ Cale songs I was familiar with due to their covers by Eric Clapton, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Widepsread Panic, respectively. And after hearing the originals over the years, Cale’s versions were just as solid, and a tad more laid back, which suited my style.

    I’ve listened to Roll On this week about five times. It’s a well produced mash-up of roots / acoustic / jazz sounds that are all pleasant to the ear. There’s nothing that absolutely blows me away, though I do have three favorites: the guitar on “Cherry Street”; the undefinable groove of “Fonda-Lina, whose namesake has “her bosoms hangin’ over the window sill / It’s a story as old as Jesus / Fonda-lina has a void to fill.”; and “Old Friend”, which faces the passing of time from the wise perspective of Cale’s 70 years: “I hear all the old folks are gone / I guess we’re the ones now / That’s the way it goes / those crowded days are behind us now.”

    Clapton appears on the title track, and the legendary Jim Keltner plays the drums on some tracks, but other than that, Cale handles pretty much all the instruments by himself. It’s a solid piece of work, and probably an album that I’ll appreciate more as time goes on (like a lot of them seem to be). It would also suit me well to dip into some of Cale’s older records. There a reason he’s been covered so many times over the years.

    Buy Roll On.

    Links: JJ Cale’s Official Site |MySpace

    Here’s a stellar live version of “Call Me The Breeze”, with JJ and Mr. Clapton (sweet guitar, Eric)…

  • Ick's Pick

    Ick’s Pick (Week VII): M. Ward’s ‘Hold Time’

    Awesome album cover.

    I came to know and instantly like M. Ward when I heard “Poison Cup” and “To Go Home,” the first 2 tracks off his 2006 album ‘Post-War’. Incredible atmosphere, and of course the unique, light sandpaper vocal of Matt Ward.

    Ward’s new album, ‘Hold Time’, is another foray into the cool, lo-fi, retro sound that marks his music. There’s something about his voice – something that instills a sense of another era, an AM radio vibe.

    There’s a handful of songs that have me clicking the back button:

    • “Never Had Nobody Like You” – Starting out with a Gary Glitter “Rock and Roll, Part 2” beat, and morphing into a “Spirit in the Sky” vibe, the tune features She & Him accomplice Zooey Deschanel.
    • “To Save Me” features background vocals by former Grandaddy vocalist Jason Lytle. The tune sounds like a Brian Wilson outtake from the early 70’s (to these ears).
    • “Stars of Leo” has one of the coolest transitions from guitar / vocals into full band I’ve ever heard (a minute and 30 seconds in).
    • A cool cover of “Rave On”, also with Zooey Deschannel sharing vocals.

    What isn’t clicking with me is a cover of Don Gibson’s “Oh Lonesome Me”, a duet with Lucinda Williams. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Lucinda, but the combination of her and Matt’s voice doesn’t work for me. While Zooey and Matt’s voice go together like a good PB & J, Lucinda and Matt are more like peanut butter and tuna. Maybe it’s just me, I don’t know. But rather than getting into the emotion of a slow and searing ballad, I think more of how their voices contrast with one another.

    All in all though, a fine album. NPR is still streaming the entire record, so go give it a listen.

    Buy Hold Time.

    Links: Official Site | MySpace

  • BritPop,  Ick's Pick

    Ick’s Pick (Week VI): Lily Allen – ‘It’s Not Me, It’s You’

    I decided to go mainstream, and feature young, pretty, n’ wild Lily Allen as my pick of the week. I’ve never owned a Lily album, and I couldn’t have named a Lily song before this week, but hot diggity ding dang, I am smitten with this cheeky lass!

    I knew I’d gone mainstream when I heard “The Fear” piping through my local gas station mini-mart today. One of those gas stations that features those window repair cretins that prowl the pumps and point out blemishes on your windshield. “Your insurance will pay for it. I can fix it for you in 5 minutes.”   “No thanks.”  [he chuckles condescendingly] “But your insurance will PAY FOR IT! Why don’t I just take care of it for you real qu-” *SMACK* upside the head. Okay that last part was made up. Sorry, I got sidetracked.

    Right. Lily Allen. My favorite off the album is a rip on her man that can’t perform between the ol’ sheets: “No Fair”. Quick tempo. Some sort of futuristic electro-hillbilly beat, with Lily’s biting lyrics hiding behind her sweet voice:

    Oh I lie here in the wet patch
    In the middle of the bed
    I’m feeling pretty damn hard done by
    I spent ages giving head
    Then I remember all the nice things that you ever said to me
    Maybe I’m just overreacting maybe you’re the one for me

    There’s just one thing that’s getting in the way
    When we go up to bed you’re just no good
    It’s such a shame
    I look into your eyes I want to get to know you
    And then you make this noise and it’s apparent it’s all over

    Other standout tunes for me: “Everyone’s At It”, “Never Gonna Happen”, and yes, “The Fear”.

    “Fuck You” is good novelty fare I guess. Starting off with the piano riff from the Carpenters “Close To You”, and leading to a sunny chorus that sings “Fuck You / Fuck you very very much…”. I guess it’s directed at the former U.S. Prez.

    Overall, I like the vibe of the album. Lily has a great voice  with that sexy Mockney accent. The production and instrumentation leans toward electro-pop, something I can enjoy. The fact that Lily Allen is 23 years old and can write catchy pop tunes that a 38 year old dude can enjoy is testament to her talent.

    But I’ll be damned if I’ll let my 2 young daughters near this album.

    Here’s my favorite – “Not Fair”…

  • Ick's Pick,  Irish,  Prince,  Rock

    Ick’s Pick (Week V): Young Dubliners – ‘Saints and Sinners’

    90% of my ancestry points to Germany, but somewhere along the line, there must have been an Irishman in the mix. Or maybe from a past life. Whatever it is, I am drawn to the Emerald Isle’s offerings – especially where beer and music is concerned. Give me some Waterboys, some Chieftains, some Pogues, and a few pints of Guinness, and I’m a happy man.

    Young Dubliners have been putting forth their brand of Celtic rock and roll for over 20 years now, and their new album ‘Saints and Sinners‘ happily fills my appetite for great Irish-branded rock & roll. Co-founder Keith Roberts has been leading the Young Dubs since he moved over to the states and formed the Young Dubs in 1988. They made their mark at the Irish Rover pub in Santa Monica, California. If you were listening to AAA radio back in the early 90’s, you may remember their most popular tune, “Last House on the Street” (a great song that I canNOT seem to find anywhere online, anyone?).

    But that was then, and this is now. ‘Saints & Sinners’ isn’t just a collection of predictable Celtic sounds. It’s an eclectic mix of well written tunes.. It’s got great pop hooks (“Buy You a Life”), heart-wrenching ballads (“(I Don’t Think I’ll) Love Anymore”), an instrumental rocker featuring Kenny Wayne Shepherd on blistering guitar (“Saoirse”), and some straight-ahead get off your ass and party anthems on the the first trio of tunes on the album (“Saints and Sinners”, “Howaya Girls”, and “Rosie”). “My Town” surprised me too in its positive outlook on these tough economic times. The lyrics about never giving up and getting back up when you’re down sound a little cliche and corny at face value, but Keith and his band make it work. I’m drawn to those songwriters who write about those who experience despair and tough times in life, but keep a hopeful and positive spirit, and know there’s a better day coming (read: Bruce Springsteen). That’s who I am, after all.

    Young Dubliners are road dogs, spending about 200 days on the road a year. Reports are that they’re a great live band to see. Hearing some of the songs on ‘Saints and Sinners‘ has me pumped to hear ’em live. If you’re here with me in Arizona, you can catch them April 25th at the McDowell Mountain Music Festival. They have the 1:30pm slot, which is way too early for these guys in my opinion, but I’ll take it.

  • Bruce Springsteen,  Ick's Pick

    Ick’s Pick (Week IV): Springsteen’s Working On A Dream

    In 1975, When Bruce was blowing up on the cover of Time and Newsweek because of the groundbreaking Born to Run (an album that came out when he was 25, for crying out loud), I wonder if he ever pondered his long term success, if he ever wondered how his career would be trucking along in the year he turned 60?

    Well, it’s 2009, the year Bruce Springsteen will turn 60. And if anyone is proving that age is just a number, Bruce is it. Look at the year he’s embarking on… his 16th studio album is released this week. He’ll play for something like a billion people around the world this weekend as the half time entertainment for the Super Bowl (go Cardinals!). He’ll embark on yet another world tour. He’s winning awards for his contributions to film (but inexplicably shut out for the Academy Awards – F.U. Oscar!). He played at the inauguration celebration of the new U.S. President. All told, he’s set to have a banner year (hell, he already has). It’s good to be the Boss…