My Amazon Reviews: Semi Precious Weapons "Aviation"

This band used to be dangerous
3 Out Of 5 Stars

In reviewing the first two albums by Semi-Precious Weapons, "We Love You" and "You Love You," I made a comment along of the lines that this was a band that could scare church ladies. With a flamboyantly glam approach and lead weapon Justin Tranter, SPW dropped guitar firecrackers of gleefully tasteless rock that seemingly came from a collision with AC/DC and T.Rex. There was little else out there that sounded remotely like it, and I was hooked.

The SPW band that made those two albums is virtually unrecognizable from the one that delivered "Aviation." Instead of having producer Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T.Rex) man the boards, this time they have producer "Tricky," whose best known client is Beyonce. They've gone from "Rebel Rebel" to "Single Ladies." They've gone from opening for Lady Gaga's concerts to actively courting Gaga's consumers. Bye bye, crunchalicious guitar chords, hello throbbing synths and drum machines. It's not a pretty transition.

There are a few songs that keep the winking wit of before in place, like "Cherries On Ice" and "Vegas," where Tranter wails "it's time to go to Vegas...and forget about you." In fact, if it weren't for Tranter's charisma, "Aviation" would just be another run of the mill synth-heavy pop album. They aren't dangerous anymore. They want your attention, and they were willing to go to that fork in the road that asked them if they'd try a third album of the music that wasn't getting anywhere commercially and see if the third time was the charm, or take that fork towards a more mainstream sound. If it's really the record they wanted to make, great (After all, I still bought it). But nothing here comes close to the fury of "Magnetic Baby" or "Leave Your Pretty to Me's" pleas for acceptance. Blandness was the last thing I expected from this bunch and "Aviation" just that. Bland.

     

My Amazon Reviews: The Cars "Door To Door"

Last Year's Model
2 Out Of 5 Stars

The 1987 swan song of the original Cars lineup delivered this album after their high watermark of "Heartbeat City" and after members had been establishing solo careers. That "Door To Door" sounds uninspired and not crackling with the imaginative songs that previous Cars albums did can be blamed on the separations or just the fatigue of being highly successful, but the material just doesn't measure up to previous standards. It makes "Door to Door" the Edsel of The Car's original six albums.

It's not for a lack of trying. The lead single "You Are The Girl" has all the trademarks of a cool Cars song; there are jangly synths from Greg Hawkes and the typical disjointed and enigmatic lyric from Ric Ocasek. The opening song, "Leave Or Stay" also promises better things, but the album starts falling apart afterwards. There aren't many memorable melodies or snap to the pop, making it even more noteworthy that two of the songs on "Door To Door" predate the 1978 debut ("Leave or Stay" and "Ta Ta Wayo Wayo"). Inspiration just wasn't coming. "Strap Me In" is the best of the rest, but "Door To Door" did not age well, the way other Cars albums have.

      

My Amazon Reviews: Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)"

Some of them want to be abused
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Coming out of a somewhat obscure new wave band called The Tourists, Dave Stewart took to his band of synthesizers and stole away Annie Lennox to sing atop his chilly architectural constructs. Annie, possessed with the natural soul presence of a diva, breathed life into these compositions like few other synth bands, and when you added a knock out video for the title track, "Sweet Dreams" became a huge hit and made Eurythmics a sensation. Their 1983 sophomore album is a rarity of the period, a synth-pop disc that has held up surprisingly well.

Only Alison Moyet and Yaz came close to matching the ice and fire dynamics of Dave and Annie. Stewart had enough skills as both an instrumentalist and producer that he could make Annie exude the warmth that his songs didn't naturally evoke. So when Annie invokes a sarcastic kiss-off on "I Could Give You a Mirror," she manages to be a cool customer and at the same time she burns off her ex (it's also interesting to note that she and Stewart were ex lovers). Then there's the classic single, pulsing with energy and Annie's soulful voice, followed soon after by "Love Is a Stranger." As chilly as the new wave arrangements may have been, Stewart knew his way around a good hook. Annie could also be very soulful, to the point where the remake of Isaac Hayes' "Wrap It Up" comes off less ironic than you would expect.

"Sweet Dreams" lags a little bit in its final couple of songs, but what comes before more than makes up for it. Annie would become an even more expressive a singer as the band began running up hits, but "Sweet Dreams" is as good a calling card as they came in the MTV era.

As for the bonus cuts, the remixes are OK. The B-Sides are experimental but not worth a second listen, and the best of the bunch is a solid take on Lou Reed's "Satellite Of Love."

     

My Amazon Reviews: Nine Inch Nails "Fixed"

Breakdown, Make Up
2 Out Of 5 Stars

Released as a companion piece to the already abrasive "Broken," Nine Inch Nails' "Fixed" is almost as caustic. Six songs (five remixes) are given a Cuisinart of studio trickery and often pair little resemblance to their sources. For instance, the remix of "Gave Up" tears apart the vocal track into some sort pastiche and stutters most of of the song into disconcerting fragments. "Throw This Away" is a remix of both "Suck" and "Last" that manages to not sound anything like their origins. "Fist F***" is one of two mixes given to "Wish," just with a nastier title and a lot more guitar and no actual use of the actual title.

One of Reznor's best (and most vitriolic) songs, "Happiness In Slavery" is also given a double dose, fist with a semi-standardized remix like you might have expected given the multiple remixes he released from "Pretty Hate Machine." It's almost a dub remix with more industrial sounds. The second, "Screaming Slave," is just what its title would reveal it to be. A total sandblaster musically, with a ton of agonized screams punctuating towards the end. Probably the least interesting track on "Fixed."

"Broken" is obviously the better of the two EP's as it represents Reznor's original vision of the songs, but "Fixed" makes an interesting curio. Reznot would tread this road again, soon after "The Downward Spiral" was released, a near full length LP of remixes called "Further Down The Spiral" would appear. I'd call "Fixed" an EP for completists only.

     

My Amazon Reviews: The Thompson Twins "Greatest Hits"

I've Got a Picture Here on My Wall
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Coming from the New Romantic movement that also pushed Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet into the pop charts, the Thompson Twins started life as an anarchist-pop band (once numbering up to 8 members and often inviting the audience onstage to play instruments). While this all-in approach made for good press and cult status, it didn't do much by way of selling albums. It was only when leader Tom Bailey shed most of the group, kept Joe Leeway and brought on girlfriend Allannah Currie did the Thompson Twins, now a trio, began to gel.

The UK caught on first, as the synth-pop dance hit "In The Name Of Love" became a hot and made waves in US clubs. The LP of ("Quick Step and) Side Kicks" also contained the single "Lies." Both were good singles, but were pretty much indistinguishable from most of the new wave of the time. The CD must have been held in high esteem by the band, as 5 songs from it appear here. But they got better fast and "Into The Gap" featured better songs and tighter arrangements. Bailey took the lead as a soulful singer, and "Hold Me Now" became the Twins' first international smash. "Into The Gap" was a watershed for Thompson Twins, as the dance single "Doctor Doctor," the Middle eastern vibe of the title song and the dramatically uplifting "You Bring Me Up" all became hits. Of 16 songs on this CD, 5 are from "In The Gap."

The Twins wasted no time on the follow-up, "Here's To Future Days." The powerful "Lay Your Hands On Me" and the fun "King for a Day" both cracked the top ten, and gospel inspired "Lay Your Hands On Me" could be "Hold Me Now's" equal as the Twins' best single. These were also co-produced by long-time collaborator, the late Alex Sadkin, Bailey, and the then super hot producer Nile Rogers. Critics were also beginning to take notice, as Bailey began to spread his duties around. Three singles from "Future Dream" make it to this CD.

The Thompson Twins began to expand their reach, with the title song to the Tom Hanks/Jackie Gleason dud "Nothing In Common" took the band outside their comfort zone. Bailey also began writing and producing for others, notably writing "I Want That Man" for Debbie Harry. However, the group wasn't changing their sound all that much and the next LP, "Close To The Bone" found Leeway out and only landing "Get That Love" into the top 40. The other song to represent the disc, "Long Goodbye," frankly, sounded tired. They did record two more albums for Warner Brothers to little or no notice.

The Thompson Twins' "Greatest Hits" is a pretty cool reminder of what just a couple of poppy art students could do with a few synths and decent melodies. Stack it with your Thomas Dolby, ABC and Howard Jones best of CDs.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Nine Inch Nails "Hesitation Marks"

Maturity Hate Machine
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Things must be going pretty swell in the Trent Reznor household. The man seems to have found some sort of domestic bliss, down to having his wife collaborate on the How To Destroy Angels project. He now has Grammy and Oscar trophies for the mantlepiece. He's so happy that, a few years after he declared Nine Inch Nails over, he's resurrected the name and put out the almost chipper "Hesitation Marks." While hardly a classic NIN album, it doesn't deserve the angry fanboy one/two star reviews. Let's address why "Hesitation Marks" is a good NIN album.

Reznor stopped using his studio time for anger management years ago, probably starting at "With Teeth." Saying that the guy's not pissed off anymore is obvious to anyone with an attention span of more than one album. He's been making music as craftsmanship as he sees fit for a long time now. Hence the politics of rocking "With Teeth," the concept album and viral campaign for "Year Zero," the ambient soundtrack precursor of "Ghosts" and his "thank you" to his fans, the so-so "The Slip," then gave it away as a download freebie. Angry young men don't sit down with movie rough cuts and devise soundtracks/scores. "Hesitation Marks" reflects all of these aspects. In fact, it's more like revisionism of his earlier work. "Hesitation Marks" sounds an awful lot like a grown man's look back at "Pretty Hate Machine."

"Copy Of A" takes this notion head on. Complete with a guest guitar run from Lindsey Buckingham (yes, the guy from 70's megastars Fleetwood Mac for you newbies), Reznor digs right in:

"I am just a copy of a copy of a copy
Everything I say has come before
Assembled into something into something into something
I am never certain anymore."

He's in on the whole idea. That's why when the haunting "All Time Low" brings to mind images from "The Downward Spiral," Reznor is looking at the paranoia from a man who's already been to the bottom and can now see what abyss looks like from a safe distance. The atmospheric guitar from one time King Crimson/Bears/Bowie guitarist Adrian Belew makes me wish Belew could have found his place comfortably in the NIN framework, as he's always been an asset to any band who needs their guitars coming in from left field. Belew's appearance here, along with Buckingham's (or for that matter, super-bassist Pino Palladino) is clear evidence that Reznor is looking after the perfection he desires in these songs.

I can't say that "Hesitation Marks" is all peaches and debris, as the song's tendency to be reminiscent of earlier, classic work can be distracting. That doesn't mean the album is bad, nor does it qualify the album as not enjoyable. Trent Reznor has every right to be happy. It also gives him the leeway to say (as he does in "Everything"), "I have tried everything, and I've survived everything." Good on him, and lucky for us. "Hesitation Marks" quietly rages on, doing so in a manner befitting a man pushing 50.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Atlas Genius "When it Was Now"

The Future's Not Where it Used To Be
3 Out Of 3 Stars

Australia's Atlas Genius are the latest band to rig up their computers to an 80's fixation, and their debut, "When It Was Now" is the kind of album that wears its influences on its sleeve. It's easy to see how they got the attention, as their greeting card of "Trojans" has just the right mixture of bubbly synth and Strokes-like guitar to stick in your ear canal (and if it reminds you of Foster The People's "Pumped Up Kicks," you're not alone in that assessment).

"When It Was Now" has a few more catchy songs to be found, especially the opening "Electric." Lead singer Keith Jeffrey's voice has the kind of mild intensity that makes the music catchy if unobtrusive, so Atlas Genius needs the kind of propulsion and hooks like the ones "Electric" provides. Same with the title track, which sounds like these dudes had a serious New Order fan-crush. I'd offer the same for "If So" and "Back Seat," which beg for a big dance remix.

The issue I have with not bringing "When It Was Now" past a C grade is that there is a serious problem with the songs starting to run together. Minus "Trojans" or "Electricity," Atlas Genius could just as easily pass for an album of Phoenix's B-Sides. There's some obvious filler; "Through The Glass" wants to be ring the rafters yet just sounds like someone trying to write an anthem without success. You can hear the ambition at work in the crowd grabbing choruses, what you don't hear a band identity as yet. "When It Was Now" could sow a few radio ready singles into the atmosphere or they could be the background music in a hip café. Potential for growth here.