My Amazon Reviews: Paul & Linda McCartney "Ram"

McCartney's Solo Masterpiece
5 Out Of 5 Stars

Finally. In the slow trickle of Paul McCartney reissues, we get the second of his masterstrokes as a solo artist. "Band On The Run" marked his finest work under the Wings banner, but it was "Ram" that set the bar so very high for his work after the demise of the Beatles. Since 1971, "Ram" has only gained in stature, remaining the most Beatles-like of his solo albums, and is the lone album Paul and Linda McCartney are credited on as artists together.

"Ram" is something of a wedding album, with Linda's presence as songwriter and prominent back-up vocalist. It's also a continuation of McCartney's one-man-show albums, with guest players credited but not attributed to any particular songs. The songs themselves are freewheeling odes to love ("Backseat of My Car"), life ("Heart of the Country") and proving to those who doubted that he could both rock ("Monkberry Moon Delight") or knock-off an appropriately Beatles-sounding single without any help from his former teammates ("Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey").

Something else the re-issue does is prove McCartney's ear for good sound; the remastering makes you wish more of the current flock of producers/engineers gave a whit about the spaces between the notes and the atmosphere of your recording. Just the strummed opening and Paul's "hey hey hey" opening are enough to give you goosebumps. The whole album does what not many can do in this day and age, and that's make an album that holds together as a full piece. Even if the album before this (McCartney) seemed ramshackle and rambling, "Ram" erased all doubts that Paul was capable of delivering an album that both lived up to his prior work and would establish him as an artist on his own.

     

My Amazon Reviews: The Rutles "The Rutles"

Maybe the best Musical Satire in History?
4 Out Of 5 Stars

In 1978, NBC foisted this special television event on America when they debuted "The Rutles' All You Need Is Cash" mockumentary. Parody documentaries were still in their infancy at the time, and The Rutles were the brainchild of one Python (Eric Idle) a Bonzo Dog (Neil Innes) and others not only spoofed the legacy of Beatles performances, they made impeccable variants on the Fab Four's music. There were inside jokes everywhere in the TV show, down to George Harrison playing a reporter, Mick Jagger and Paul Simon giving mock interviews, and assorted takes on the foibles the Beatles themsleves faced through their career.

But it's the music that matters on this CD. An expansion of the original LP (time constraints left some of the songs of the original album), every song here directly references multiple Beatles songs and the entire beat period (some of these could be lost Merseybeat singles from unknown bands, the quality is that high.) Some, like "Ouch's" take on "Help" or "Piggy In The Middle" copping "I Am The Walrus" are obvious, while others are just brilliant songs on their own, like the "Twist and Shout" contortion that becomes "Number One."

More to the point, Innes is a perfect Lennon imitator, while Rikki Fatar does Harrison's bits staggeringly well. Sometimes the bite is too deep ("Cheese and Onions" takes a poke at Yoko, while "Piggy In The Middle" has a potty joke that loses it's impact after repeated listenings), but all can be forgiving by the humor of "Ouch" or the impeccable takes on "Doubleback Alley" ("Penny lane/Strawberry Fields") and "Get Up And Go" ("Get Back"). Lorne Michaels oversaw the whole deal, and 30 plus years on, it can still elicit a smile. Bear in mind that it took another six years before anything even comparable entered the musical spoof world - aka Spinal Tap - and you get the idea just how effective Innes and Idle's Rutles work here was and remains.



    

My Amazon Reviews: Paul McCartney "Kisses On The Bottom"

The Return of Percy Thrillington
3 Out Of 5 Stars

Hardcore McCartney Buffs will remember Paul's practical joke on the world when an album called "Thrillington" appeared; a lounge-ish instrumental recreation of "Ram" credited to one Percy "Thrills" Thrillington. The album, once McCartney let on to the joke years later, became a collectors' item. But the whole thing of McCartney as socialite muzak maker is part of Paul's lore.

Once I started listening to "Kisses On The Bottom" (a line from the opening song "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter"), I was wondering if McCartney was serious or playing up his audience for a laugh. He's played around with expectations before (the three albums as The Fireman with producer Youth, his ventures into classical music, movies, etc,), and he's pulled standards out for albums since the beginning of The Beatles. Nor is he the first performer to decide a shot at the great songbook of the 30's, 40's and 50's would be an artistic challenge. Think Linda Ronstadt's Nelson Riddle phase or Rod Stewart's ongoing "Great American Songbook" series. To McCartney's credit, he uses Diana Krall's ace band and producer Tommy LiPuma, who could do these arrangements in their sleep. Plus, they went to one of the best old studios in the world, Capitol A, where the likes of Nat King Cole and Fran Sinatra fashioned the kind of sound McCartney strives for here.

"Kisses On The Bottom" succeeds for the most part because of the professionalism. Every note is perfect, every brushed drum stroke sounds bristle-soft, McCartney sings in a register that emphasizes every breath. Even McCartney's two ringers, "My Valentine" and "Only Our Hearts" hitch right into line like a jigsaw puzzle. It's - to quote U2 - even better than the real thing. Which is another reason why I'm having such a tough time warming up to more than a C Grade for "Kisses On The Bottom." When McCartney and John Lennon teamed up to start The Beatles, these were exactly the kind of songs they were writing against. There's a strange sort of irony the man who buried the kind of standardized pop songs in the 60's simply by shaking his mop-top and singing "She loves you, yeah yeah yeah" is resurrecting the music he helped to sweep aside for a new big thing. Somewhere, Percy Thrillington is smiling.

   

Happy New Year, Courtesy of George Harrison

My Amazon Reviews: Brendon Benson "My Old Familar Friend"

Raconteur Reconnaissance
3 Out Of 5 Stars

Brendon Benson has carved out a nice little niche for himself as a power-popper extraordinaire. He's cut albums that use the blueprint of bands like The Who and The Beatles (and then their acolytes, like Jellyfish or Matthew Sweet), but his three albums prior attracted mostly critical attention and a devoted cult audience. One of those fans was Jack White, who pulled Benson into the rocking Raconteurs, which raised his profile sufficiently enough to get him another record deal, this time with ATO.

"My Old Familiar Friend" will surprise those familiar with Benson only via his Jack White friendship, but not those who have loved his albums like "One Mississippi." Benson flaunts his love of Paul McCartney from the first notes of "Whole Lot Better." There's a kick of Motown in the swirling strings of "Garbage Day." "Misery" even has a little bit of an Attractions kick to it. All across the album, there's a cheerful vibe to which the sixties were the most fun of the musical decades.

What does that mean for you (or for Benson, for that matter)? Depends on your record collection. "My Old Familiar Friend" will slot in nicely if you slavishly pour over your Jason Faulkner, Matthew Sweet, Big Star and Badfinger albums. Seeing as PowerPoppers are something of an insular breed of fanatic, then that's about the best recommendation I could give as to whether or not you'll like this Cd and want to buy a copy for yourself.

   

My Amazon Reviews: The Searchers "The Searchers (1979)"

Searchers Return  
4 Out of 5 Stars 

Original Searchers John MacNally and John Pender were the core of the original incarnation of The Searchers, playing on such classic songs as "Needles and Pins" and "Sweets for My Sweet." Frank Allan had been in the band from the late sixties on. Even if the hits had long stop coming, The Searchers soldiered on. Then, it seems, time caught up with them again. Their brand of jangle pop had been flaunted by everyone from Tom Petty to REM, and in 1979, Sire Records (home to Talking Heads, Ramones, etc) signed them for a new album.

The resulting "The Searchers" was a total surprise. Instead of reviving old hits or trying to chamge their sound, the band carefully selected modern songs from current writers and claimed them as their own. The biggest shocker was "Hearts In Her Eyes," written by Will Birch and John Wicks for English new wavers The Records' second album. It is the album's best song by a huge margin and should have been a comeback hit. The guitar and harmonies were tailor made for The Searchers' brand of music and performance, enough so that this is one of those rare instances where the cover outshines the original.

On other songs, such as Tom Petty's "Lost In Your Eyes" or Mickey Jupp's "Switchbaord Susan" (more famously covered by Nick Lowe), the same formula applies. Overall, this is one of those 60's comeback albums that doesn't fall flat or feel like cheap nostalgia. They followed this album with the equally well done "Love's Melodies" a year later. It's taken them a while to finally see their CD release, and it is well worth getting them if you're an 80's lover.

 

My Amazon Reviews: Glee "Presents The Warblers"

Let's All Sing Like The Birdies Sing  
5 Out of 5 Stars

When Glee originally started, I have to admit that I expected a lot more vocalistic music than what ultimately began appearing on the soundtrack CD's. While I have found each of the discs to be enjoyable, they've often had their share of Karaoke Plus type of moments, and rarely outdid the original versions of the songs they started off covering. "Glee Presents The Warblers" changes that.

For starters, they enlist an actual Glee Club (the Tufts' University Beelzebubs) to perform the bulk of the vocal work. Then they give the lead focus to Darren Criss (Blaine on the show), one lead to Chris Colfer (Kurt) and a pair of duets for the two. It centers the album more than the other soundtracks, essentially making this Criss' debut album. Criss has a pleasant, boy-band type of voice, while Colfer sounds like the show-tunes worshiping kid he plays on the show when it's time for him to hit The Beatles' "Blackbird." (He's good on the Lennon-McCartney numbers; Colfer's version of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" remains a series standout).

The selection is a solid representation of any typical "Now That's What I Call Music" CD, with current pop holding court. I was already partial to The Warblers' version of Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream," then they chart similar courses on Beyonce's "Bills Bills Bills" and Maroon 5's "Misery." They redeem the long reviled McCartney "Silly Love Songs" and manage to make Barbra Streisand's "What Kind Of Fool" into the kind of song the Bee Gees might have done if Barry Gibb had kept the song for himself. (However, I doubt anyone will every be able to sing "Do You Think I'm Sexy" and make it anything better than a piffle.)

The consistency of "Glee Presents The Warblers" make it the best of The Glee series. It also may be the first starmaker of the series, propelling Darren Criss into a promising solo career. Now where's Colfer's solo?