Eagle-Eye Cherry - Desireless

When I was young, before I had ever owned any albums, I heard a song on the radio that really stuck out to me. It really lured me in and became my favorite song for almost that entire year. Shortly after I had heard the song on the radio, I saw a music video for the same song on VH1. The music video was also really cool, and made me love the song even more. Being the young juvenile that I was, I didn’t think twice about looking into this artist’s other material; hell, I didn’t even know the artist’s name until a friend of mine informed me at the local roller-rink. Years later however, I recalled the memories I had of that great song, and being the mature music lover that I was, decided to do a little research and uncover the mysteries of this artist.

Considering you have already seen the title of this review, you already know that the artist in discussion here is Eagle-Eye Cherry. And if you give your mind a little time to delve into your memories, you’ll recall the tune of Cherry’s debut hit “Save Tonight.” There you go. Now that you remember the song and are bobbing your head back and forth to the acoustic, intensity driven greatness, let’s talk about the album that you probably don’t know as much about.

Released to the U.S. in 1998, Desireless was a top seller. Selling over four million copies worldwide, the Eagle-Eye debut was a hit. Although people were lured into purchasing the album mainly for its hit single, it does have a few other gems within its track listing. One of these songs, “Indecision,” is an interesting song in which the lyrical delivery see-saws between soothing storytelling to anger-driven refrains and guitar solos; a cool twist on the typical soul-rock genre song structure. Cherry’s second single, “Falling In Love Again,” holds a great place in the middle of the album, giving the listener a break from the quiet acoustic soul charts and hitting it with a vicious, moody love song. Another great song that really sticks with me is “Conversation,” a song telling about the tragedies of lying to a child. The vocals in this song are touched with just the perfect amount of soul given the emotional weight of hatred and sadness.

After listening to the album a couple times, I realized how similar some of the songs sound in comparison to some of John Mayer’s mellower music. This made me wonder why Eagle-Eye Cherry never got much more recognition. Since the release of Desireless, Cherry has released two more studio albums, both being extremely unsuccessful. This may be because the acoustic sound wasn’t really highly sought after by everyday music listeners until the early 2000s when John Mayer started his rise to fame, reminding people of the overshadowed genre.

Is Desireless a perfect album though? Far from it. With the lyrical flubs within “Rainbow Wings” and “When Mermaids Cry,” and the repetition in songs like “Comatose (In The Arms of Slumber),” Cherry presented us with a pretty average album. In his defense, it was his debut album, and not many artists can successfully pull off something like the Boston debut. Either way, I definitely note the album as an honorable mention, solely for the deep amount of passion put into its construct.

If anything off Desireless seems to pull you in, I encourage you to check out Cherry’s other two albums Living in the Present Future and Sub Rosa. These too have some pretty good tracks worth checking out. In the meantime, go ahead and check this album out with this link to the album on Napster:

http://free.napster.com/view/album/index.html?id=10502799

Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Now that I'm back from my unannounced, week long hiatus, I'm ready to post the Phoenix review! So, apologies all around, but my week was filled with plans and utter chaos. With that said, on with the review!

For those of you who have never heard of the band Phoenix, let me start by saying this: in general, Phoenix is an indie band that goes for that very stereotypical, half-way between Death Cab For Cutie and The Strokes sound, that those of us who love indie music hear so damn much. However, the thing that separates Phoenix from the rest of these bands is that Phoenix does it right.

Being a group that began as backing instrumentals for the French indie band, Air, and being partly responsible for the formation of Daft Punk, you shouldn’t be surprised to see aspects of both of these groups in all of Phoenix’s music. Using these bands as a reference, it could be said that Phoenix is comprised of the electronic intensity of Air backed by the seamlessly simple and mesmerizing musical integrations of Daft Punk. The simplicity is also reflected in their album composition. Phoenix always makes it their goal to deliver an album that, as a whole, is aesthetically pleasing. The album doesn’t need to make the concept of delivering a deep message its primary goal, but it does need to be comprised in a way that will pull the listener further into what is being presented. Now, I’m not trying to say that Phoenix doesn’t have any profound, underlying messages in their music, because that would be ludicrous; it’s just that Phoenix takes more of a musical path to delivering their messages as opposed to the more common poetic path.

The reason I emphasize this aspect of the group is because the album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix does an amazing job defining this concept. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is arguably as musically artistic as many legendary indie albums such as, Arcade Fire’s Funeral, or The Pixies’ Doolittle and does more than catch the eye of the artistic soul; this album effectively pulls in even the non-analytical listener. The first two tracks, “Lisztomania” and “1901” are so luring with their faint electronic backgrounds and pseudo-dance beat drive, it does nothing but have the listener wanting more. As the album progresses, the instrumental involvement is in and out like a musical roller coaster ride. This gives the album well spaced variety and a transforming, diverse sound. Songs like “Love Like a Sunset (Part I and II)” and “Big Sun” do a great job at making these stylistic transitions happen smoothly.

Once the musical work-up pulls your heart into the album, that’s when your mind starts to listen closer. The entire album has a classical theme (interpretable by the title) and contains a deep, historic-style inner conflict that will keep you analyzing the poetic vocals. I won’t go into the actual poetic conflicts of the album, as to leave the interpretation up to you, but let me tell you, no matter how you look at it, it’s deep. And hell, if analyzing lyrics isn’t your thing, we already talked about how the album is as pleasing as ever for those types of listeners.

Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is an album that excels in all musical categories. This great achievement, however, is also its greatest criticism. It seems that to make a truly iconic album, one needs to push all efforts into one aspect, whether it be the instrumentals, the poetics, or the all around evolution of the music...but I say fuck it! Phoenix has made an excellent album that is a masterpiece to the masses. So give it a listen, I guarantee you will love it one way or another!

Album review will be posted tomorrow

I just changed my mind on which album I will be reviewing this week, and rather than rush it out tonight, sloppy and poorly done, I will be taking a little more time and posting it tomorrow night. I will however, tell you what album I will be reviewing. By request this week, I will be reviewing the album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix by the band Phoenix. Look out for it tomorrow!

Shuffle Sunday [The Mummies - Justine]

I’m really glad that this song popped up this week because to put it quite simply, I believe that anyone who has a passion for music needs to know about The Mummies. The Mummies debuted in 1988 performing a live show at the Chi Chi Club in San Fransisco. These four guys dressed in tattered mummy costumes performed their loud music, while simultaneously making a mess of the stage and screaming obscenities at the crowd in between songs. Little did the attendants of that show know, this group would later be looked at as one of the most influential and iconic garage punk bands in the history of music.

If there is one thing that I have learned in my studies of music over the years, it’s that music is nothing without a serious motive. The Mummies motive was a little thing they liked to call ‘Budget Rock.’ This concept simply meant that they would constantly reject professionalism and fame to give themselves more of a homemade, half-ass sound. When they recorded, they would usually do it on hand-me-down at best equipment, which was usually broken, or not working properly. The Mummies recorded all of their material onto vinyl and didn’t even use CDs as a means of distributing their albums until the year 2000. Hell, even when they toured, they drove themselves and all their equipment around in a beaten up 1965 Pontiac Ambulance!

This idea of ‘Budget Rock’ really showed people that if you want to make music, you can, and The Mummies proved it. This simple concept is one of the biggest reasons underground punk has come so far over the past twenty years. I guarantee if you ask any punk group in the world if they know who The Mummies are, every one of them will say yes (or at least they should). From their garbled punk music to their crazy stage antics, The Mummies have definitely put themselves on the map of punk history.

As far as the song “Justine” goes, it’s pretty much a garage punk masterpiece. It’s a simple broken up love song about a girl who just didn’t do it for the guy. The song isn’t just simple in its concept, but is also a simple musical composition with half-screamed lyrics paired with loud messy drumming, all guided by sloppy basic guitar riffs and a pressing blues bass line. The whole song contains one verse and one refrain set to repeat for a whole two minutes, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it repetitive. The mistake-ridden imperfections of the song really keep the song incredibly interesting and intriguing, and aside from that, it’s just fucking fun to rock out to! Get your punk shoes on and throw this song on at full blast. You’ll find yourself dancing ‘til you can’t dance anymore.

Now I can’t talk about The Mummies without mentioning going into their live performances, but rather than talk about it, I think I’ll just show you a video, because words can do it no justice...enjoy...

Now *that* is intense. I really wish I could have seen these guys play. The worst part about it is that the group has been randomly seen performing unannounced shows *twice* this year already. But I won’t complain to you guys anymore about it. I’ll just show you the song and get on with my life...if you hear any news about The Mummies and a live performance, please don’t hesitate to tell me.

And without further ado...here is “Justine” by The Mummies!

Guns N' Roses - Chinese Democracy

I had wanted to talk about this album for a long time, but I decided that it would be in my best interest to let the album sit for a while; let people get all the unconstructive criticism off their chests and give them a little time to listen to the album in a different light. A light, that doesn’t hover over the fact that the album took 14 years to finish, or that Axl Rose couldn’t keep a proper band line-up throughout the creation of the album. Chinese Democracy (and I know I just may be attacked for saying this) is a virtually flawless musical composition, critiqued for all the wrong reasons.

Rather than review this one in my traditional conversational or song-by-song recap, I’m going to simply give the reasons why I believe Chinese Democracy deserves a great amount of respect and then elaborate on my points.

Time and Effort:

First of all, I need to give it up for Axl Rose, sticking with this project over all these years. The guy is probably one of the most inspiring artists I’ve ever seen. I mean, there were times that even some of his biggest fans were kicking dirt in his eyes, but he kept going. He kept going back and changing things; adding members he felt fit the parts and pushing off release dates until the album was indeed exactly what he wanted. At times he really had to be a dick about some things, but he just wanted to see his vision become a reality. He didn’t care what other people thought and when the album finally was released, I think it was a real slap in the face for all the people who doubted him.

Creativity and Ingenuity:

Chinese Democracy leans on the long side with a finished length of a little over 70 minutes. The first time I listened through the album it didn’t feel like any time had passed at all. My mind was sucked into the album, the way its sound travelled from track to track. It keeps the same feeling underneath it all, but drastically changes the moods and styles with every song. This album is the perfect way to introduce someone to the many sounds of rock. There are so many sub-genres of rock music; it’s almost inconceivable that one album could present them all. However, Chinese Democracy does just that. “It’s a very complex record; I’m trying to do something different.” Well Axl, you can rest well knowing that you have achieved that goal with a vengeance.

Axl Rose:

Axl Rose has always been known for his long ranged, scratchy vocals, but the true reason why my ears perk up every time I hear Rose’s voice is because of the immense amount of passion behind it. The only other American vocalist that I can think of that is even comparable to the intensity of Rose is probably Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. The best track on the album that proves the power of Rose’s voice is the beautiful piano ballad “This I Love.” Even when it comes to more intense avant-garde/fusion tracks, the way he molds his voice around the instrumentals is frickin’ awesome. Check out “There Was A Time” and you’ll see exactly what I mean; breathtaking.

Instrumentals:

Obviously after having almost 30 members contributing parts to this album over the 14 years of construction, Rose had a hell of a lot to work with and incorporate. The finished product after all the cutting and pasting of the thousands of recorded parts for each song leaves me with nothing to say but...holy shit. There is so much going on in every track it’s almost hard to keep track of it all. I could see where this could come off as being a bad thing, but trust me, it’s not. It keeps you listening and delving deeper into each track. I’ve listened to the album a lot since it came out and I’m still finding new things. It just keeps me coming back to find more and I love it.

Really there is only one thing that I could complain about on this album and that is the name of the band that released it. It just simply isn’t Guns N’ Roses. Is this a bad thing? Well, no. It’s just so far from the line-up, style and musicality of the original band that the group deserves a different title. The only remaining member of the original band is Axl and either way I don’t think that the name Guns N’ Roses deserves to tie into the release of the album. The group is simply a new legacy in music history.

Well, there you have it, my take on the infamous Chinese Democracy. If you’ve listened to the album I’m really intrigued to hear what you have to say about it, so please, head over to the forum and tell me what you think! The link to the forum is in the side bar, just register yourself and reply to the Chinese Democracy topic.

Here's the link to the album on Napster:

http://free.napster.com/view/album/index.html?id=13004813

Shuffle Sunday [Kadenzza - War Phantasma (Suite Opus 4)]

What do you get when you mix the Castlevania soundtracks, death metal, Arjen Lucassen, progressive rock and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra together...? You get the one-man composing powerhouse that is Kadenzza.

Kadenzza is the solo project of Japanese musician and composer, You Oshima. I compare Oshima to Arjen Lucassen (the man responsible for the progressive metal project, Ayreon) because Oshima provides the entire instrumental line-up of each album he records. But, unlike Lucassen, Oshima also provides the vocals and self-produces all of his music.

Although Kadenzza holds strongly to the neoclassical genre, it is far too intellectual to be labeled by anything but its very own sub-genre. Described in the words of Oshima himself, it is “Grand Orchestral Kamikaze...sophisticated full orchestra, razor edged screaming insane vocals, astral Japanese soprano, solemn church organs, furious blast beats, hyper-speed neo-classical guitars, dancing intellectual piano with complicated rhythms.” It sounds like a hell of a lot to handle all at once, and trust me it is. I definitely wouldn’t recommend listening to this unless you are already deeply introduced to the progressive style.

“War Phantasma (Suite Opus 4)” is a 13-minute power ride of an epic. The introduction is almost like a slowed down mix of Dream Theater’s “As I Am” and “Constant Motion.” The lyrics make a hasty entrance presented with obvious inspirations from Chuck Schuldiner of Death. After a quick guitar solo and an exponential increase in tempo and intensity, the song goes into a very King Crimson style of play. The minimalistic segregation of the piano solo plays much like the first half of “Moonchild” from King Crimson’s progressive masterpiece, In the Court of the Crimson King. After a few more minutes, the song begins to incorporate aggressive stock audio until the lyrics enter back in. The vocals are lot more brutal now and rather than bringing the guitar with them, this time, the solo is provided by electric organ synth. The song then continues to rise with anger until completely dissolving away, leaving a short bit of silence before the solemn piano returns. Ocean waves in the background, the piano begins to transform into a music box song, slowly fading away over the last minute of the song.

The song definitely leaves the listener in awe, especially because it was all conceived and provided by one man. As I said, this music is incredibly intellectual and leaves room for an endless amount of interpretation. For a prog listener, this is the best part. So, if you love progressive music as much as I do, please give this song a listen and tell me your thoughts. And while you’re at it, why don’t you give the entire album a chance. “War Phantasma” is actually the last track of Kadenzza’s Into the Oriental Phantasma. You may find that listening to the rest of the album will help you in your journeys through this week’s song.

I apologize for this Sunday's review being a little shorter than most, but the song truly speaks better for itself. Here's the link to the album:

http://free.napster.com/view/album/index.html?id=12911163

Aural Vampire - Vampire Ecstasy

This week’s album is definitely not for the weak hearted. This is some of the darkest electronic synthpop you’ll ever hear. It’s industrial, raw, warped and twisted. There are sounds on this album you will have never heard anything like in your entire life. I warned you that this is some pretty intense stuff, but if you are looking for an underground experimental experience like no other, look no further than Vampire Ecstasy by Aural Vampire.

Aural Vampire is made up of two members: Exo-Chika supplying vocals and one of my favorite DJs of all time, Raveman, doing everything else. Raveman is one of the Buckethead/Daft Punk variety in that he conceals his face from public view by the use of his signature mask. I like comparing him to Buckethead not only because of his “fashion sense,” but also because of the obscure experimental musical talent. Like I said, you will hear some sounds you have never heard before. Raveman lays it all out to give you the most unique listening experience possible. These are sounds I simply cannot explain. In order to understand you need to give it a listen yourself. A great example of this obscurity is the album’s title track “Vampire Ecstasy.” Go ahead; take a listen......pretty damn nuts, huh?

As far as Exo-Chika goes, it’s almost hard to believe how well her voice goes with this genre. It fits the pop sound so well, yet still holds really dark expressions. Her voice is powerfully alluring and on top of the background music it’s almost hypnotizing. Listen to the song “Disco King” and you will know exactly what I mean; she is one talented girl.

The electronic duo is actually relatively new to the music world, debuting in 2004 on an independent label. Vampire Ecstasy was Aural Vampire’s first album and still remains to be their only full length LP. The band puts a lot more work into being a live band than releasing an extensive amount of albums. This may change however, since the band has recently signed with Avex Trax, planning a summer release date for their newest album.

The album itself pulls you in further and further with each track. It has you from its strong industrial tracks like “Terror Vixen” and “Banboro Koubou,” to the electronic mayhem of “S.O.B.” and “Murealism.” But don’t let me convince you that this album is solely about oddities, because it also has its fill of mellow pop and house techno. “Freeeeze!!” will definitely have you raving the instant you throw it on the speakers, but throw on “Hana no Sakigake” and you’ll almost be in tears. On top of all this there are also many musical surprises planted by Raveman throughout the album. “Crimson Tyrant” and the latter of “PNFPN” will creep you out like no other. You just never know what you will get from Raveman.

If you are into electronica music in any way, I recommend you check this album out. It’s an almost undiscovered gem in the darkwave/synthpop world and deserves to be heard. Also, if you like some of Daft Punks less mainstream recordings, you might be inclined to give this album a listen as well.

The whole album can be found on this guys YouTube channel, here:

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=ahotaku&view=videos&query=aural+vampire