My Amazon Reviews: Traveling Wilburys "Volume One"

A Really Super Supergroup
5 Out Of 5 Stars

Roy Orbison. Bob Dylan. George Harrison. Tom Petty. Jeff Lynne. A cross generational, odd musical but stunningly workable combination, they dubbed themselves The Traveling Wilburys and cut this one off, one of a kind album. Each man brought their A-game and checked their egos. Ultimately, "Volume One" became a surprise hit, going Top Ten and generating a hit single via "Handle With Care."

Even as odd as the combination seemed, the members all had connections. Dylan toured with Petty and the Heartbreakers, Harrison had just wrapped up "Cloud Nine" with Lynne at the helm as producer, who had also produced Orbison and Petty. "Volume One" somehow managed to use the best of each member, making the album a light, fun affair. It's easy to feel the joy the band gets as they plow through "Tweeter and The Monkeyman," which is so Dylan, it could be mistaken for a Dylan parody. Or Orbison's ranging vocal on "Not Alone Anymore," using that mammoth voice of his to enchant the listener.

But the capper is "Handle With Care," where each member gets a turn at the mic for an utterly charming piece of rootsy rock. Same with the second single, "End Of The Line." Given the amount of talent in the room, it's amazing just how seamless this all is. Lynne's polished production job makes the blending also feel effortless. There weren't many supergroups that could flaunt the title without having a shoving match for the spotlight, but "Volume One" was that rare triumph.

Sadly, Orbison died shortly after the album came out, and the surprise success pretty much guaranteed a second try, but the chemistry was not there and the self-referencing (like "The Wilbury Twist") became obvious instead of effortless. You can get "Volume One" without worry, "Volume Three" is a fielder's choice.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Joan Jett & The Blackhearts "Greatest Hits"

Don't Hate Yourself for Loving Her
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Joan Jett is a true rock and roll survivor. After the crash of The Runaways, who were often derided as some kind of stunt/joke from Kim Fowley, she rose from the ashes, got rock impresario Neil Bogart to sign her, and released "Bad Reputation." While it was the second album, "I Love Rock and Roll" to really make the breaks happen, Joan rose from the ashes and has kept her career going into the next century. This two disc Greatest Hits anthology is a super way to find out just how (and why) she never went down without a fight.

First off, she dusts off a couple of Runaways tracks, "Cherry Bomb" "School Days" and "You Drive Me Wild" show that The Runaways were perfectly capable of turning out decent rock songs, and Jett takes them over with authority. She's had a knack for doing that from the start, as her choice selection of cover songs has always shown. Here you get "Do You Wanna Touch," "Crimson and Clover," "Everyday People," "AC/DC" (the Sweet song, not the band, although her version of "Dirty Deeds" could have fit nicely), and her explosive version of a song Bruce Springsteen handed over to her, "Light Of Day." Oh yeah, and an obscure song from a band called The Arrows, "I Love Rock and Roll." OK, so we've established that Jett has eclectic tastes in rock artists, but what about her own songs?

"Why should I care about a Bad Reputation?" she barked out on her debut LP. Indeed, she rocks without giving a darn about what the world thought of her. She mixed hard rock, punk energy and glam, sometimes in the same song. There's a direct line from "Do You Wanna Touch" to "I Hate Myself for Loving You." You can't deny the kiss off of "Fake Friends." Or a subversive sense of humor by recording "Love Is All Around" (the theme to the Mary Tyler Moore show) and punking it up. Jett proves she can still cook with a pair of songs from 2006's "Sinner," one of which is a gas of a redo of The Replacements' "Androgynous."

"Greatest Hits" has 21 songs between the two CD's, so there's not much to quibble about (and I am guessing Epic records kept control as very little of those years are represented). But for an enduring talent of Joan Jett's caliber, you'll get your money's worth from this set.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Train "Drops Of Jupiter"

Fifth Planet Out
4 Out Of 5 Stars

For their second album, Train broadened their sound out to a more contemporary sound, losing the alternative leanings of their debut and adding rock that was more reminiscent of Counting Crows than the rootsier vein of the debut. The tightening up paid of in a big way, when "Drops Of Jupiter" and its title song went top ten and the album sold almost three million copies in 2001. This comes in on two levels; Pat Monahan is an effective pop songwriter, and the eclectic mix of instruments (a mandolin here, a vibraphone there) helped the songs stand out when mixed with the usual radio fare. It's one of many elements that made the stately single almost omnipresent when it hit the top 40 and started getting massively played.

But Train is more then just power ballads and guitar strumming. They've got a knack for poppier rock hooks (helped along by producer Brendan O'Brien, whose credits range from Pearl Jam to The Black Crowes, whose work does get some echoes here), the kind that turn into ear-worms with ease. This is not to confuse Train with a true rock band, when they try to actually rock (on "Respect"), it's not entirely convincing. The other unfortunate thing is the band is kind of faceless. Did you know Train has multiple top ten albums? Probably not. But the good thing is that, even with an album as even and decent sounding as "Drops Of Jupiter" is, Train got better as the albums progressed, even managing a comeback when many pundits had written them of. "Drops of Jupiter" is a good starting point if you want to find out how Train managed to be both massively popular and yet under the radar at the same time.