ONCE UPON A TIME.....Midnight Oil

 

MIDNIGHT OIL  Midnight Oil  (Powderworks/Sprint,1978) - Rock


     A promising beginning, but the Oils' sound hasn't fully gelled yet; they're not as tight as they could be, the production's tinny, and while the guitar work's accomplished, it meanders too much into conventionally show-off solos. This album is basically split between tough, catchy rockers ("Powderworks", "Run By Night", "Used and Abused") and unfocused art-rock excursions ("Dust", with a really interesting bassline that's the basis of the song, but not much else; "Surfing With The Spoon", that works up to an exciting climax; and "Nothing Lost, Nothing Gained", of which the less said the better). Even at this early stage, the rockers are all exciting, especially "Run By Night", about drinking whiskey and playing with the light. Yes, the Oils are a bit more hedonistic and less politically oriented at this point. They even have a - gasp - conventional love song, "Head Over Heels", territory they would never turn to again. It's okay, but I'm glad the Oils never did anything like that again - the lyrics are completely banal, and Garrett's voice is hardly suited to tender love man sentiments, to say the least. He's better screaming his head off - man, does he have a cool scream. The more experimental numbers wander all over the place, generally without much of a point; the Oils haven't developed enough as a band to make these efforts interesting. A formative effort.

TRACKLIST : Powderworks
                         Head Over Heels
                         Dust
                         Used And Abused
                         Surfing With A Spoon
                         Run By Night
                         Nothing Lost-Nothing Gained

Коментари

Постави коментар

Популарни постови са овог блога

ONCE UPON A TIME.....I'm Not Me

Слика
  MICK FLEETWOOD'S ZOO  I'm Not Me  (RCA,1983) - Rock        The story behind Mick Fleetwood’s 1983  I’m Not Me  is well known. It was his second “solo” album for RCA Records, but everyone, especially Fleetwood, knew it was a band effort. Fleetwood’s name was the draw, but The Zoo was a fully formed ensemble that had been playing together for a year. This occurred because Fleetwood wanted a real group and not an album put out by studio musicians who’d come by, do their parts, and ride off to other projects.        The principal members of the Zoo were Fleetwood on drums, guitarist/singers Billy Burnette and Steve Ross, and bassist/singer George Hawkins. (Hawkins had appeared on Fleetwood’s previous release,  The Visitor ). As Burnette, Hawkins, and Ross shared lead vocal duties and co-wrote many of the songs, the band’s structure was easily compared to that of Fleetwood Mac. In addition, the album was produced by Rich...
Прикажи све

GUITAR WOLF.....Jason Becker

Слика
        Jason Eli Becker  is an American composer and former guitarist. At the age of 16, he became part of the  Shrapnel Records -produced duo  Cacophony  with his friend  Marty Friedman , and they released two albums,  1987 and  1988. Since the dissolution of Cacophony in 1989, Becker has undertaken a solo career, releasing seven albums since his 1988 debut  Perpetual Burn . He later joined  David Lee Roth 's solo band and recorded one album with him .       Becker's performing career was cut short by  ALS, which he was diagnosed with in 1989.       Often incorporating advanced techniques such as sweep picking, alternate picking, artificial harmonic accenting, tapping and hybrid picking; he was among the leaders of the field during the technical shred guitar and  neoclassical metal  trend of the mid to late 1980s and is still respected and honored by his musician peers t...
Прикажи све

ONCE UPON A TIME...American Gothic

Слика
  DAVID ACKLES  American Gothic  (Elektra,1972) - Rock/Americana       A former Vaudeville performer, Illinois-born Ackles was hired by Elektra Records in the mid-1960s as a paid songwriter, a job that ultimately landed him a five-record deal that would yield this Bernie Taupin produced album, among three others. It was this unlikely clash of anachronistic show business and modern-day lyricism that so deeply informs his recorded output. Alternately calling to mind Hoagy Charmichael, Irving Berlin, Robbie Robertson, Tim Hardin, and Scott Walker, Ackles forged an utterly unique sound out of stray parts that comprise a whole that is as uncompromising as it is unrivaled. Nearly entirely eschewing the singer-songwriter staple of guitar, Ackles favors an elliptical piano that weaves itself around the moaning “high school” horns that were so memorably employed by the Band on their self-titled record. It’s a fascinating move that only adds to the wheezy candor of h...
Прикажи све