My Amazon Reviews: John Grant "Pale Green Ghosts"

The Haunting of Pale Green Ghosts
5 Out Of 5 Stars

Blessed with a coffee-cream baritone and cursed by crashing relationships, "Pale Green Ghosts" finds John Grant striding an emotional chasm that keeps one foot on acerbic sarcasm and the other on a wit that turns both inward and outward. You're unlikely to hear any album more self confessional in this year. I've been listening for a couple of months and just can't shake the way Grant delivers a blow by blow account of both his break-up and the tiniest touch of optimism by the album's end.

And what an ending "Pale Green Ghosts" comes with. "Glaciers" comes to a conclusion that even with the slow motion pain driving through his life, in the aftermath of the agony will come "beautiful landscapes" and "precious metals." All of which follows recriminations about hypocrisy and theocracy. Or there's the wicked sense of humor of "GMF" (aka Greaest Mother Youknowwhat)

"Half of the time I think I'm in some movie.
I play the underdog of course.
I wonder who they'll get to play me.
Maybe they could dig up Richard Burton's corpse."

Add that the harmony is provided by perennial emotional depth charge Sinead O'Connor (who provides harmonies on three other songs) and it just adds to the bitter joke. There's also the deft confession of his HIV+ status on "Ernest Borgnine" where he wishes that 'Ernie' would call him up and offer him some life advice.

The album is carried by minimalist beats and synthed out production that accents Grant's whiplash lyricism, mainly directed at the ex in what must have been one of the all-time worst breakups in history. "You got a black belt in BS" he accuses over what could almost be a danceable single if it weren't so wickedly cruel and absurdly funny. "Pale Green Ghosts" may depend on its laptop underpinnings, but the man is not background music. It demands that you step into a place like "I Hate This Town" where everyone, including you, get to share his view of the world. Trust me, when the music is this good, you'll want to.

     

My Amazon Reviews: kd lang "Sing It Loud"

False Advertising
3 Out Of 5 Stars

I guess I finally have to own up to it; KD Lang has been making the same album for a few releases. You're getting everything you'll love about her, that gorgeous voice, the extremely tasteful arrangements and musicianship, the immaculate production. Touches of country (love that dobro) and Lang's chanteuse's ease with a lyrical lick. But you'll also miss what you really loved. "Sing It Loud" is dominated by songs that range from mid-tempo ("Sorrow Nevermore") to downright languid ("A Sleep With No Dreaming"). The more you listen, the more it becomes obvious that Lang has given up on music that has any kind of pep in its step. When you call your band Siss Boom Bang, you'd expect a little bang, maybe? Not this time.

Lang has still got the chops to take a song and just claim the thing as her own. While it mirrors the version done by Simply Red a couple decades ago, Lang's take on the Talking Heads' "Heaven" is masterful. She also nails the title track, but the point is that you're calling the album "Sing It Loud." Is it too much to ask for a little volume, a little bit of kick? The same misrepresentation happens when you call a song "Sugar Buzz." I'm not one to bemoan that she's no longer cutting "Absolute Torch and Twang," but even "Invincible Summer" threw in a few pop thrills for a listener to grab hold of and for Lang to sink her teeth into. "Sing It Loud" is a joyless, tepid affair that you've heard too many times before.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Josh Zuckerman "Got Love?"

Got Love If You Want It
3 Out Of 5 Stars

Philadelphia Singer/Songwriter Josh Zuckerman tries a bit more rocking for his third CD, "Got Love?" It seems to be a pretty good fit. Even more fun is that Josh also gets into the funk. Add some solid social messaging, and you've got "Got Love?".

Josh is a confident singer and he aligns his songs to his voice, making the album fit the artist. He's punchy without meriting a migraine, so the buzzing lead guitars of "I Thought You Love Me" convince you that they belong and aren't an annoyance. He even does the love ballads well, as the string saturated "Fall In Love Again" (shades of Five for Fighting here) prove.

My favorite though is the title track. Asking why anyone's love should be considered different from another's, "Got Love" lifts a bass-line from Cameo's "Word Up" and asks the always pertinent question...why isn't all love equal? It's among the best songs here, and given that he's working on a follow-up (this was released in 2009), I am eager to hear more about love from Josh Zuckerman.

     

Drake Jensen rocks my (country) world

Drake Jensen is a Canadian country singer, who just happens to be gay and out. I've been enjoying his CD "OUTlaw" for a couple of weeks now. Should you think the gent is easy on the eyes, I can also add that he's easy on the ears. He has two terrific videos from the CD,

The first, for "Scars," takes on the very serious topic of bullying, and doesn't mince words. With powerful imagery, I find both the video and the song itself riveting.



Then there's the more fun side of Drake, in the recently released "Fast Enough For Me." Go on, admit it. You've been there.



Like I said, I am really enjoying his music. You can find out more at drakejensen.ca (which is were I copped this photograph).

My Amazon Reviews: Brett Every "Tales of Ten Men"

Another Hit for Heartbreak Radio
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Australian Brett Every crossed my radar a few years ago when I made a post to a blog asking why we still had not found a gay Bruce Springsteen. Which is funny, because Brett isn't anything like The Boss. But he also isn't anything like your typical "gay musician," where everything is in hardcore dance electronica or is some sort of dance diva. Which makes Brett something of an outcast in gay music circles. He writes more in a personal style, and "Tales of Ten Men" is exactly what it's title implies, complete with an extra four songs. Heartbreak, separation, new love, getting back together, and even desperation (a bluesy live cover of Concrete Blonde's "Joey") are all on a first name basis.

Recorded rather spartanly, with sometimes nothing more than his strummed guitar or a piano and maybe a muted trumpet or chorus, "Tales of Ten Men" takes on fellows of many stripes. Some of the songs are new takes from previous discs. Two of them better their originals, especially "Mr Smith." Sung by the young lover to the upset father of his lover, it has a pain to it that the first version on "Fairy Godmother's Gone to Vegas" didn't. Then one of the 'bonus' tracks pays homage to Blanche Deveraux, his "Golden Girls" hero. Originally on "Camping Out," this live version seems a bit more tongue in cheek. But there's nothing cheeky about "Sydney," a heartbreaking look at a relationship that's drifted apart. With Every's bar-soaked voice, there's a certain desperation in the recognition that, while the love hasn't gone bad, it's just gone away.

The best is saved for the first of the first of the 'bonus' tracks. "It's a Beautiful Day" is a wonderful song that celebrates a pair of men getting married.

"And the Prime Minister said
by this beautiful law that
whatever beliefs,
we believe in love more."

It's enough to make a grown man pull out the Kleenex, I tell ya. "I hear music from the neighbors. Tom Waits, Bette Midler and they're singing the same song..." kind of sums the guy up in his own words. If you haven't found your way to Brett's music, this is a good primer.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Queen "A Kind Of Magic"

There Can Be Only One!
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Queen had just come off their triumphant Live Aid appearance when they headed back into the studio to record "A Kind of Magic." The band was also approached with the plum job of writing songs for the film Highlander, giving them even more inspiration to compose material up to their high standards. This album, probably the best of the latter part of their career, was the result.

"A Kind of Magic" contained the Live Aid inspired "One Vision" (which also ended up in the cult movie "Iron Eagle"). Better known as the "fried chicken song," "One Vision" is one of Queen's great arena rockers. Both "Gimme The Prize" and "Don't Lose Your Head" rocked the "Highlander" movie, with Freddie Mercury's mighty wails atop Brian May's usual guitar pyrotechnics.

May, however, contributed one of my favorite Queen ballads to this album, the heartbreaking "Who Wants To Live Forever." Along with the delicious pop of the title track, these were both massive hits around the world (and unforgivably ignored in the USA). The video of a cartoon Queen dancing to "Magic" is also one of the most clever things that the band's ever done. John Deacon put in the beautiful "One Year Of Love," also a worldwide hit.

Next to the farewell of Innuendo, the best of the second phase of Queen's career. As an Queen album, it's on a par with Jazz and A Day At The Races. The triumph of Live Aid and the inspirational feel of this album led Queen to embark on the Live Magic tour, their last live trek before Mercury's declining health ended their 20th Century touring.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Gregory Gray "Strong at Broken Places"

Stronger than known
4 Out of 5 Stars

Gregory Gray made three solo albums and has been releasing tracks under the nom de tune "Mary Cigarettes" for a few years now. "Strong At Broken Places" was his second album and released on the Atco/Atlantic in 1990 when the company was trying to resurrect the Atco label (and made the place the home of AC/DC for a time). While Gray has little else in common with AC/DC, his album deserves your attention all the more.

He has the songwriting sensibilities of Randy Newman at his most biting and recalling the Pet Shop Boys at his most buoyant. Producer Davitt Sigerson (and later, Stephen Hague) frames Gray with modern sounding synths and often danceable rhythms. There's even a dabble of reggae on "People Are Hard." But Gray is at his best when he's either out to party ("Universal Groove," "Things Ain't Always What They Seem") or wax cynical. On the brilliant "When The Music Turns Into Money," he rails against an industry that he wants to crack, ending up singing without any missing irony "I'm a goldmine, I'm a gold mine." It's sublime and subversive at the same time.

Gray also tries his hand at commercial pop (his first album hasn't even seen a CD release, it vanished so completely) on "The Fun Has Just Begun" and "Easier Said Than Done" and rocking a bit on the closing "Coming Back For More." That song is when he loses the high croon for a Bowie Belter and does so convincingly. All this makes "Strong At Broken Places" on of those good albums to slip through the cracks. It may not been as strong as the follow-up, the gay-centric "Euroflake In Silverlake," yet it stands the test of time better than may albums from the same period.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Adam Lambert "Tresspassing"

Border Smashing
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Adam Lambert is the real thing. He is charismatic, flamboyant and sings his @ss off. He isn't here to make you like him, he's here to make you pay attention. He's not just there to shock you, he's here to make 100% certain that he was all everyone talks about afterwards. And they do. For days. Lambert laid it all on the table; from his sexuality to his theater background, all so you'd take notice. There hasn't been someone so blatantly lunging fists first at rock stardom since Billy Corgan smashed his pumpkins. And his new album is even better than the debut.

"Trespassing" quits the all-over-the-place song-styling of "For Your Entertainment" and concentrates on dance-rock. He cuts right to the chase on the title track and opening song, where he pounds out a drum/bass line worthy of Queen and states up front "No Trespassing, yeah well my *ss, wait till you get a hold of me." Make no mistake, Adam is out to make you dance (Nile Rodgers and Sam Sparrow guest on the slinky "Shady") while "Pop That Lock" trades on both dance and EDM style without giving up an inch of Adma-style. That may be because this time, Lambert has songwriter's credit on almost all the disc's tracks, as opposed to "FYE," where almost every song was outsider composed and usually by a star/stunt guest (Pink, Weezer, Justin Hawkins of the Darkness, etc).

Even the outsider songs have punch. "Better Than I Know Myself" continues the formula of the ballads like "Whataya Want From Me" from the debut. There's a cathedral of multi-tracked Lamberts and a climaxing production. Same with "Never Close Our Eyes," a Bruno Mars song that has a plenty of soul. Lambert explores both his vocal range and his emotional one on "Trespassing," with two ballads, the interesting "Underneath" and the stunning closer "Outlaws of Love." Without saying it explicitly, it's the main exploration of Adam's out-ness, (or the night after the party ends, you choose), but is sure sounds like a defensive pose in favor of relationships.

The funny thing is, "Outlaws" may be the album's most restrained performance. Adam maybe be the kind of man for whom over-the-top is merely a barrier to be conquered as often as possible, but when he "they say we'll rot in hell, well, I don't think we will. They've branded us enough, Outlaws of Love." As stunning as he is when he's glamming it up on the dance floor, Adam can be more effective when he's pulling back on the reins. He'll be doing some dates as Freddie Mercury with Queen this year, but the Adam Lambert of "Trespassing" is his own man now.