My Amazon Reviews: Elton John and Leon Russell "The Union"

A more perfect Union 
3 Out of 5 Stars

I guess if you knew that Leon Russell has been recording music all decade long, you might feel a bit put out that Elton seems to be telling everyone how he is rescuing the guy. Perhaps, and he's made mention about "getting Leon a better touring bus," so maybe it will be nice to see Russell getting his due. On the other hand, this overdone, overbaked cake seems to be trying to lionize where a simple spotlight might have done the job.

There's just too much going on here, and too often, for me to really enjoy "The Union." Both Elton and Leon seem in fine voice, and the opening "If It Wasn't For Bad" starts things on a high note. But soon, you realize that the whole thing feels like some kind of tribute, and not a collaboration. The endless vamping, the constant gospel choruses, the lack of anything uptempo, and "The Union" crawls into dirgeland. "Gone To Shiloh" breaks out if only because Neil Young's voice pierces through the fog to punctuate a song about the pain of war on the family of the soldier.

There are good songs to be found on "The Union" if you have the patience. "I Should Have Sent Roses" is a good interplay between the artists, and "In The Hands Of Angels" is the kind of classic Elton used to knock off in his sleep, yet Russel wrote for the album. Which probably proves Elton's point after all; As an influence, maybe Leon Russell gave more to Elton than most of us knew. Too bad that, on "The Union," they fail to catch fire.

My Amazon Reviews: Green Day "Warning"

A harbinger of the coming directional change 
4 Out Of 5 Stars

From the first strokes of acoustic guitar that open "Warning" to the deeply introspective closer, "Macy's Day Parade," Green Day were sending out a message. They weren't gonna be dookie-heads any more. Everything from the somber cover to the mandolins and accordions that made their appearances on the CD were blatant signs that "Warning" was more than just the title on the record.

Green Day was going to try to break free from the old molds. While this was a very good, if tentative move that "American Idiot" would codify a few years later, "Warning" has lots going for it. The title track has a lyrical quirkiness that made it (at least to me) the equal of Alice Cooper's "Generation Landslide." "Misery" takes a darker look at the castaways that come to San Fransisco only to find that the dreams of the city are often just fiction, while "Waiting" is the same dream trying to come to life. As Billie Joe sings in "Macy's Day Parade,"

"I'm thinking about a brand new hope,
One I've never known
'cause now I know
it's all I ever wanted."

It's a far cry from the Buzzcocks/Ramones worshiping trio that once complained that "m*sterb*tion's lost its thrill." Because of that, "Warning" remains one of my favorite Green Day albums.

         

My Amazon Book Reviews: Bryan J Kinnaird and Sean Delaney "Sean Delany's Hellbox"

The strange, sad case of Sean Delaney
3 out of 5 Stars

Sean Delaney was a linchpin in the creation of KISS, and has been slowly, quietly been deleted from the band's history. When Casablanca evaporated and Glickman-Marks allegedly stole his money, Delaney ended up broke and homeless. "Hellbox" was his attempt on beginning to set the legacy straight. Unfortunately, Delaney died in 2003 at the age of 58. His recorded conversations were then transcribed by Bryan Kinnaird.

The result is a mess of a book with some tantalizing details. Delaney pulls no punches, saving some of his harshest allegations for Neil Bogart and Howard Marks. He has a love-hate relationship with his former proteges, in particular, Gene Simmons. But the books is so thin (I read it in roughly two hours) and riddled with factual errors and typos, it becomes difficult to accept Delaney's accusations. For instance, he repeatedly referees to "Dressed to Kill" as KISS's second album, and even gets his own albums by The Skatt Brothers mixed up.

Part of this can be blamed on Kinnaird, who could have edited and corrected the most glaring errors (Janice Joplin for Janis, etc), but that doesn't help ease the strain on Delaney's more incredible stories. On the other hand, Delaney's life story and tales of 60's New York City are wonderful, as are the road trip stories with the newly (and not yet famous) minted KISS. It's nice to hear some of the KISStory from a perspective outside the band, and "Hellbox" adds a much needed chapter to that legacy.