The “Rock ‘n’ Roll Farm Report” was a short-lived review column that ran on our Alt.Culture.Guide™ website for almost a year until we closed the site, not due to lack of readers, but from lack of time and money to continue the project. Still, as these columns show, we reviewed a diverse range of music...
COLLAGE – Changes
Further proof that progressive rock is a worldwide phenomenon, Poland’s Collage is one of the most innovative and interesting bands in the genre. Formed in 1985 by students of the Frederic Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, the band released its first album, Basnie, in 1990. It was with the release of their 1993 sophomore effort, Nine Songs of John Lennon, which features Collage re-imagining classic Beatles and Lennon solo songs as exotic prog-rock compositions, that the band really caught on with audiences from Europe to Asia. They followed up that album with the melodic, pop-oriented Moonshine in 1994.
Originally released in 1995, Changes revisits Collage material circa 1985 through 1992 with new vocalist Robert Amirian (who sung on Moonshine), including re-recorded songs from Basnie and previously unreleased songs. Even with lyrics sung in Polish, there is no denying the power of the music. Guitarist Mirek Gil is an inventive and skilled six-string maestro, while the rest of the band weaves a dense, multi-textured tapestry of sound behind Amirian’s lofty and passionate vocals. More than merely prog, Collage produce art-rock of the highest degree, dreamy and mesmerizing music that demands that the listener pay attention. Highly recommended for fans of the Flower Kings or Spock’s Beard, Collage is guaranteed to provide the same thrill of musical adventure as those legendary bands. (Metal Minds/MVD Audio)
One of the most exciting and promising young bands to hit the scene in a generation, the Exploding Hearts literally came and went in a flash. The band released its excellent debut album, Guitar Romantic, in early 2003, the disc showcasing a brilliant mix of ‘60s-styled garage rock and vintage ‘70s power-pop, influenced by ‘80s-era punk and UK rock. Guitar Romantic was well-received by both critics and the ever-critical punk community, and the Exploding Hearts became a big draw on the west coast club circuit. In July 2003, however, fate struck in the form of tragic accident that took the lives of band members Adam Cox, Matt Fitzgerald, and Jeremy Gage.
In a fitting tribute to the band, Dirtnap Records has assembled the appropriately named Shattered from the odds and ends of the band’s too damn brief career. Shattered collects the band’s early (hard-to-find) singles, various demos, unreleased songs, and alternative mixes from Guitar Romantic under one roof. The album offers a glimpse at a band that had the potential to become really big, one that drew its influences from a myriad of impressive sources, forging a distinctive and electric sound that was entirely its own. Shattered stands well on its own merits as a highly entertaining rock ‘n’ roll collection; coupled with the essential Guitar Romantic, it bookends the legacy of this fine band. Discover them now, boys and girls, ‘cause you’ll be paying mucho dinero for these recordings in ten years or so when the Exploding Hearts become a much-coveted cult band. (Dirtnap Records)
Twenty-something years ago, when guitarists Danny Amis and Eddie Angel launched a surf-rock band called the Straitjackets and began playing the honky-tonks and rock clubs of Nashville, who would have believed that these guys would still be grinding it out here in the new millennium? Yet here they are, Mexican wrestling masks intact, hooking up with vocalist/saxmaniac “Kaiser” George Miller for Twist Party. Taking their inspiration from the early ‘60s dance craze, Twist Party finds Miller and the Straitjackets pounding out 16 infectious tunes, all with a “twist” dance theme.
Of course, this is the kind of riff-driven, tremolo-fed, Dick Dale-inspired soundtrack that the band can really sink its teeth into. From the hilarious “Twistin’ Gorilla” and the soulful “Twistin’ Out In Space” to the B-movie horror-flick theatrics of “All Back To Drac’s,” these tunes rock with a joy de vivre that transcends the ultra-cool retro-rock vibe that is the band’s trademark. Twist Party comes packaged with a bonus DVD, providing visual dance lessons courtesy of the beautiful and, apparently, “world famous” burlesque trio the Pontani Sisters. Somehow, I think that Chubby Checker would approve… (Yep Roc Records)
You’d think that after five albums that this joke would have gotten tired, run its course, and been discarded. Not on your life, pal! The premise is simple, really – punk rock royalty (members of NoFX, Lagwagon and No Use For A Name) get together in the studio to torture other people’s songs. To date, the Gimme Gimme boys have tackled show tunes, R&B classics, and pop music, and with Love Their Country, they give the punk treatment to Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, and even the Dixie Chicks. Funny thing is, the gimmick still works ‘cause the guys have a genuine fondness for the material that they reinvent.
This means that they have a hell of a lot of fun while punking up such inherently country songs as “(Ghost) Riders In the Sky” and Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” (tilting towards Celtic punk here). Other highlights on Love Their Country are the blazing cover of Dolly’s classic “Jolene,” a metallic interpretation of the Eagles’ “Desperado,” and an almost joyous reading of Kris Kristofferson’s “Sunday Morning Coming Down.” Always good for a laugh or two and a half-hour’s entertainment, you can never go wrong with Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. (Fat Wreck Chords)
The problem with Live To Win, Kiss frontman Paul Stanley’s first solo effort in nearly three decades, isn’t in the uber-slick production afforded these cheesy slices of nerf-metal composed with help from lite-rock scribe Desmond Child. No, the problem is in the high expectations afforded the legendary frontman of one of rock’s larger-than-life bands. Whereas Kiss managed to wrestle ‘70s metal from the grip of stoned proto-slacker adults and deliver it back into the greasy hands of stoned proto-slacker teenagers where it belonged, Stanley does little on Live To Win to challenge the sluggish new millennium musical status quo. The singer’s pipes are in fine form, Stanley’s vox on tunes like “Wake Up Screaming” and the title cut amazingly supple considering 30+ years of hard rock histrionics.
Although Stanley would never be mistaken for, say, for Frankie Marino, his guitar playing is often underrated and overshadowed by standard Kiss theatrics; on Live To Win he delivers a passable performance as a modern rock axeman. What troubles me, perhaps, is that provided the opportunity (and budget) to create any sort of recording that his heart desired, Stanley chose to choke up the potential of Live To Win with creeping mediocrity and tortured cliché. When the album shoots for the moon – as it does with the anthemic “Bulletproof” or the soaring “Where Angels Dare” (with guitarist John 5) – Live To Win fulfills its promise. Otherwise, it’s mostly inoffensive and mildly entertaining filler. Kiss fans be warned…this Paul Stanley album has very little in common with his work in that great band, but it stands well enough on its own. (New Door/Universal)
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