My Amazon Reviews: The Bravery "Stir The Blood"

Iron Poor Blood
3 out of 5 Stars

The Bravery make another stab at blending their love of 80's Duran Duran/New Order/Cure songs into the platinum turf of The Killerson their third album, "Stir The Blood." After exploring more organic territory on The Sun And The Moon, they swing back to the synth-beat heavy sounds of their debut While the songs are competent and catchy, The Bravery still can't get past their slavish devotion to the MTV sound that would have made them video stars alongside of A Flock of Seagulls.

What could be called progress hear is just how angry leader/singer Sam Endicott has become. Both "HateF**k" and "Jack O'Lantern Man" are raging and violent, with the former about an abusive relationship. The bulk of the songs are frenzied and distorted, with Endicott's vocal yalp sounding slathered over. Which makes the final song, "Sugar Pill," all the odder. After making and album that pulses with frantic dance beats and a Robert Smith sing-a-like style, suddenly his voice is pure, clear and dropped down to a Nick Cave zone. Along with the opening track, "Adored," "Sugar Pill" is the song that makes me think Endicott - in an interesting side note, he wrote the smash hit She Wolf for Shakira - and company might make The Bravery into something more than a second tier Killers.

Happy and Home

Happy and home from a delightful weekend at MAL, DC. The guys from Grey Rose Video once again offered space at their booth to share, and the array of books was laid out. It's always nice to watch the ebb and flow of attendees scoot by, and since we were located in the hallway between the two main vendor rooms this year, everyone had to pass me at least once. The other fun thing is to see friends. The semi-well Mudcub and the hopefully germ free Thor across the popped by for a quick chat before utterly vanishing for the rest of the weekend. But not fast enough for me to hand off an hour's worth of obscure/out-of-print early 80's singles I'd burned for Mud, the track list of which was as follows:

She Sheila - The Producers LP: You Make the Heat 
Boardwalk Beauty - The Elektrics LP:  Current Events 
Suspicion - Scott Wilk + The Walls LP: Scott Wilk + The Walls  
Break Away - Big Pig  LP: Bonk  
She - Colourfield LP: Terry Hall: The Collection 
Bad Guy's Winnin' - D B Cooper  LP: Dangerorus Curves 
Girls! Girls! Girls! - The Cretones LP: Snap! Snap! 
Stuck In The Rain - Paul Hyde And The Payolas LP: Here's The World For Ya 
The Shapes Of Things To Come - The Headboys LP:  The Headboys  
Back of my Hand (US Single) - The Jags LP: The Best Of The Jags 
Waiting For The Night - The Pop LP: Go! 
Let Me Go - The Rings LP:  The Rings  
Christabelle - The Sorrows LP:  Love Too Late 
Takin' Her Back - Paul Warren LP: One Of The Kids 
Love Stealer - The Scooters LP: Blue Eyes 
Out In California - Yipes! LP: Yipes 
Out of Mind Out Of Sight - The Models LP: Out Of Mind Out Of Sight

And despite the fact that we'd crossed paths often enough, I got a neighborly formal introduction to the dapper wescobear and his travelling companion, Otter J. (who is as handsome as WB often describes). I am always happy to meet folks that actually live nearby, and it turns out the Otter and I grew up in realtive close proximity in Dutch country.

Had some nice meetings after the vendor mart with friends for two dinners, one at a steak club and the second at The Playbill. I am still eating cautiously in the aftermath of the surgery, but recovering nicely. I am headed back to work after giving up the tough-guy routine. I originally thought I could go back into the call center four days after the docs took a part of my backside out, but this was way more exhausting than I thought. After going to work Monday last week, I came home and got ill. Joel and my friend Dr Reeves leaned on me to call out for the week, and they didn't have to lean hard. And having a Dr Friend with a presecription pad helps get the medicines that really do the job, so to speak. Alas, as much as I wish I could zone out for a few more days, I've now shot half my year's vacation. Back to the grind. Here's a little New Wave to start to week.

My Amazon Reviews: Beach Boys "The Sounds of Summer"

The Best of The Beach (Short of a Box Set)

4 Out of 5 Stars

As one of the big three American 60's pop/rock bands (The Byrds and Simon & Garfunkel), The Beach Boys defined a California Dream in sun soaked harmonies and the creation of a mythos that has never quite died. This despite the admitable oddness that surrounds the band and its members (the abusive Dad who sold off the music rights, Brian's fall into mental disease, the drugs, the latter day internal squabbles). None of the quirks (or a couple noticeably absent songs) matter when you listen to the 30 chart hits on "The Sounds of Summer."

Covering all the Beach Boys' multiple labels (Capitol, Reprise and Columbia), this is the best band for the buck short of splurging for the Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys box set. It starts with the simple pleasures of "California Girls," moves to Brian's stunning brilliant "pocket symphonies" like "Sloop John B" as well as the 70/80's comeback nostalgia fests of "Good Timin'" and "Kokomo." While the lure of the oldies-circuit and baby-boomer cash may have been the cause of some of the post 60's albums, the band often tried to create something other than easy albums (IMHO, 15 Big Ones and Keepin' The Summer Alive were fine works), it will still be those songs that popped from those tinny AM radios that will always be at the front of the band's legacy.

"The Sounds of Summer" does its best to balance the two periods. From the nostalgic Capitol orange and yellow Yin/Yan label artwork to the collection of pictures, this works hard to invoke that innocent freedom the music stirred up when it was brand new. Several of the songs are here in their mono-mixes (Brian, who was partially deaf, often mixed in mono) which, when you think about it, is how you probably heard them in the car anyway. At an hour and a quarter running time, you can pop "Sounds of Summer" in the car player and take a psychic road trip back to when gas was 20 cents a gallon, the surf was up and we all wanted to be California guys.