What’s In The Bag? CDs 7-14

Posted on June 9, 2018 by VocalsOnTop

BargainMusic

So I bought this bag of 50 random bargain cds and now I’m going to review every last one of them. This group of 8 is just brutal.

CD 7/50: Brian Mcknight – Anytime (1997)

BrianMcknightAnytime

Brian Mcknight sold 2 million copies of this album, I don’t think I’ve heard any songs from this before. I’ve heard of Mcknight and Mase who guests on the biggest single here “You Should Be Mine.” This is the R&B I spoke of in my preview article for this series. It’s not a genre I love so this is a little tough. There’s lots of slow jams here, lots of songs to get your lady in the mood… maybe. It probably does the job better than Metallica anyway. This album isn’t something I’ll ever listen to again, time to move on.

CD 8/50: Ashlee Simpson – Bittersweet World (2008)

AshleeSimpsonBittersweetWorld

I saw Ashlee Simpson once at a Kings of Leon show. I also was watching the Saturday Night Live where she messed up lip synching. That about flushes out my opinions on Ashlee Simpson. This album is her 3rd and it was the beginning of the end for her it looks like. She burst onto the scene and was huge for a bit, then she faded away and went into witness relocation or something. The biggest single from this album “…Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)” sounds like that song “Hey Mickey you’re so fine” updated for a different generation. The only problem is that this song isn’t as cute or good or probably not originally about a kitty like the aforementioned 80s song. I’ve gotten off subject, where was I? Oh yes, I don’t like this pop crap, time to move on.

CD 9/50: Terri Clark – Fearless (2000)

TerriClarkFearless

I knew I’d get to some country in here eventually. This Terri Clark album led to a rash of country cds out of the bag that I hope ends soon. You’ll see further down the page that I’m listening to a lot of country for this article. The biggest single here appears to be “A Little Gasoline” and I don’t remember but it isn’t bad. It is definitely that late 90s/early 2000s radio country sound. Clark’s voice has plenty of twang and the lyrics aren’t terrible, it just sounds like it came out of the Nashville “machine.” It’s worth noting that Clark’s star has faded in the US but she is actually still charting in Canada where she is from.

CD 10/50: Heart – Magazine (1978)

HeartMagazine

Heart is a decent band but it looks like this is one of their bad albums. Ironically from the same year (1978) as that Dire Straits cd I pulled in the last batch, “Magazine” critically doesn’t get a lot of credit and didn’t do well on the charts. The only song that charted was the title track “Magazine” but you also get a blues medley here and a cover of the excellent Badfinger song “Without You.” This album still managed to move over a million copies in the US likely because of the success Heart had already achieved. With rockers like “Devil Delight” as well this misstep in Heart’s discography is still the best cd of this batch of bargain grab bag discs.

CD 11/50: Brooks & Dunn – If You See Her (1998)

Brooks&DunnIfYouSeeHer

Brooks & Dunn are what I think of when I think about riding the school bus in high school. The duo was littered all over country radio for many many years. This album was well into their career and still spawned three #1 country songs. The biggest being “If You See Him/If You See Her” with the guest vocal talents of Reba McEntire. “How Long Gone” is another radio standard that still gets play. I’d go as far as to say this album really encompasses 90s radio country all together. Decent songwriting and that standard “Nashville” production creates some of the most radio friendly stuff you can fine.

CD 12/50: Trisha Yearwood – Trisha Yearwood (1991)

TrishaYearwood

Here’s another bus cd… “She’s In Love With The Boy” is a song I’ve heard over and over. The song “That’s What I Like About You” is a country romp that is also a fun listen and another of the four top 10 country singles off this record. This cd hits a weird vein of my childhood that prevents me from hating it. I’m not saying I’m jamming out to it often but I don’t hate it. Unfortunately, this cd looks like someone tried to hold it under water to drown it. The water damage is brutal, the cd was not included in the insurance claim though so it plays fine.

CD 13/50: Whhopi – Eddie (the soundtrack) (1996)

WhoopiEddieSoundtrack

Whoopi must have been in this terrible movie. This cd represents my biggest fear in pulling discs out of the brown paper bag. A bad soundtrack from a bad movie featuring music from a genre I don’t care for. If you’re curious the notable artists here are Coolio, Dru Hill and House of Pain. The Coolio song was a single and isn’t terrible, it has a funk feel to it and I can stand it. The other hit song by Dru Hill isn’t really good at all. The hodgepodge of other songs just aren’t interesting from someone who doesn’t listen to contemporary R&B.

CD 14/50: John Michael Montgomery – Leave A Mark (1998)

JohnMichaelMontgomeryLeaveAMark

Another great 90s country radio name is John Michael Montgomery. While this isn’t his most popular album it did have some hits. The most notable being “Cover You In Kisses” which is another Garth Brooks-sounding generic twangy number. I don’t know that any of the songs here are particularly bad but they just aren’t interesting. Another radio hit “Hold On To Me” is really boring and bad and most other songs mostly follow suit. Montgomery is another pop country performer that doesn’t write much of his own music and who owe’s his career to promoters and label push.

Please let the next group be a little less shitty. I’m not near as excited about this project anymore.

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250 word album review: Okkervil River – In The Rainbow Rain

Posted on June 5, 2018 by VocalsOnTop

Okkervil River - In The Rainbow Rain

Stars3.5

Okkervil River has deservingly built up a great and loyal following. They’ve done this with singer/cornerstone of the band Will Sheff leading the way exposing his heart and soul in his writing. The casual observer might think Sheff and company don’t take many chances veering from the norm but this album definitely has a little different feel.

The first song “Famous Tracheotomies” pulls no punches in subject matter, it is about exactly that. It is a typically weird and uncomfortable Okkervil song with no chorus or hook but still manages to be entrancing. As far as the sound of the album that lead song doesn’t show the cards that “In The Rainbow Rain” is actually holding. The rest of the album touches on what is hinted at on the album art colors, an 80s sound. You’ll hear keyboards, synthesizers and horns throughout with production to match. It gives the whole album a cloud of untimeliness that is likely very intentional. It can be distracting, almost like extra tinsel when it isn’t needed. Songs like “Love Somebody” and “Pull Up The Ribbon” are upbeat and overcome this handicap. This is especially true on the wonderful swaying tune “Don’t Move Back To LA.” That song shows how great of songwriter Sheff really is.

The album is a little different than recent efforts by the band and the dated sound and production can be distracting but it is still difficult to hide good songs and there are a few really good songs here worth checking out.

Key Tracks: “Famous Tracheotomies” “Don’t Move Back To LA” “Love Somebody”

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What’s In The Bag? CDs 1-6

Posted on June 3, 2018 by VocalsOnTop

BargainMusic

So I bought this bag of 50 random bargain cds and now I’m going to review every last one of them. Starting with a Creed cd really set the tone. I knew there would be some music that I was familiar with but out of the first 6 I owned 4 of them at one time. Here is the first group of reviews:

CD 1/50: Creed – Weathered (2001)

CreedWeathered

Creed was on top of the world when this album was released, they had no idea the rug was about to be pulled from under them. This fitting first cd from the bag is really generic butt-rock. I was excited when the opener “Bullets” was a hard rocker when this was released. The single “My Sacrifice” was huge, I mean everywhere. I never needed to hear it again but here it is in my cd player. “One Last Breath” was popular too, it is worse than “My Sacrifice.” Overall these are just generic songs without a lot to them, they sound like radio rock from the early 2000s.

CD 2/50: Creed – Human Clay (1999)

CreedHumanClay

They aren’t all going to be Creed cds right? Although, that would’ve been about the funniest thing ever. I was very into “Higher” when it first hit the radio, don’t judge. It was a catchy rock song and I still don’t hate it. The sentimentality of “With Arms Wide Open” fell short of me liking it though. “Are You Ready” was an alright song too but overall this album is pretty “meh,” even for what it is. I’m glad we got the Creed cds out of the way early and I don’t have to worry about them lingering in the bottom of the bag.

CD 3/50: Crash Karma – Rock Musique Deluxe (2013)

CrashKarmaRockMusiqueDeluxe

This is the only cd out of the first 6 I hadn’t heard of. Opening the booklet reveals a band picture that tells a lot of the story though. A group of 4 pristine looking guys with shades of hipster leanings. They turn out to be Canadian and have one member from the band Our Lady Peace, pretty cool. The music isn’t bad but it also isn’t all that great. It’s standard pop punk meets alternative rock. The songs are hooky and have memorable choruses but nothing stands out as amazing about this cd.

CD 4/50: Dire Straits – Dire Straits (1978)

DireStraitsDireStraits

Really? The Dire Straits? I didn’t see this one coming. This album is really really good. I own it on cd and vinyl and have a ton of respect for it. So why is it in here? It isn’t hugely sought after but still I would think it could fetch a $3-5 price tag at a used cd store. It has “Down By The Waterline” and the great “Sultans of Swing” as cornerstones of the record. It also has the great and underrated “Water of Love” hidden away in the tracklist. This is a cd that already was in my collection somewhere so it was a shocking pull, it’s a really great album.

CD 5/50: Finger Eleven – Finger Eleven (2003)

FingerElevenFingerEleven

I should have seen this coming after the Creed albums. Wind-Up label mate Finger Eleven sold lots of cds riding Creed’s coattails in the early 2000s and I’m sure many are right back in the cd store again these days. You probably have heard the megahit off this one, “One Thing” it’s an acoustic ballady thing and it’s not that great. It’s a radio song and doesn’t make you throw up in your mouth or anything but it’s probably not on any of your current playlists or anything.

CD 6/50: Ben Folds Five – Whatever and Ever Amen (1997)

BenFoldsWhatever

I had planned to only review 5 in the first group but I couldn’t stand it, I needed one more. Pulling out a Ben Folds album was a nice surprise. Something I was familiar with and didn’t mind listening to at all. I had forgotten how bouncy this album is, the upbeat piano tunes are pretty fun to listen to. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t tire of them by the end of the record but it’s still a fun listen. You’d probably recognize the mega-hit “Brick” off of this album, it’s a great radio song.

Now that I’ve hit “publish” on this article I can open the next group of cds, I must admit, I’m really excited to see what I’m going to pull out.

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250 word album review: Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel

Posted on May 31, 2018 by VocalsOnTop

Courtney Barnett - Tell Me How You Really Feel

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This album is exactly what the best case scenario was for Courtney Barnett. After a couple of successful EPs and debut album, then a solid release with fellow slacker rock icon Kurt Vile the stage was perfectly set for “Tell Me How You Really Feel.”

Barnett’s last record “Sometimes I Sit and Think…” was very, very good. It was hard to imagine her next solo album would eclipse it but it has. Right away “Hopefulessness” is a great brooding opener that builds to the songs that will soon follow. The line from the song “take your broken heart and turn it into art” sums up the record nicely too. The lackadaisical approach Barnett is known for is delivered perfectly on “Need A Little Time” as the electric guitars ring in the background. On “Nameless, Faceless” (hey, I wonder if she’s ever listened to Nirvana’s “Nevermind”) the tempo is more upbeat but the mood fails to lift. The Jeckyl/Hyde song’s chorus dips to a distorted darkness that starkly contrasts the verses. “Walkin’ On Eggshells” reveals even more heartbreak and as it sounds like a pacifist shoegaze version of Dylan’s “Positively 4th Street.” It’s not all mellow rock though, “I’m Not Your Mother, I’m Not Your Bitch” sounds like one of those early amazing b-sides from the White Stripes with their brash guitar noise and ambiguousness.

Every songs here is a highlight, you won’t find a weak song that doesn’t possess something interesting. Barnett simply knocked her proper sophomore album out of the park. If she can continue to write songs this good and interesting her records will be must-buys for years to come.

Key Tracks: “Need A Little Time” “Walkin’ On Eggshells” “Nameless, Faceless” “City Looks Pretty”

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What’s In The Bag? Let’s Find Out.

Posted on May 29, 2018 by VocalsOnTop

If you frequent used music stores like many crate and bin trollers like myself you’ve seen these grab bags. Ultimately we all know what is in there; crap. It was posed to me that I should find out and analyze what was in the bag by writing about it. Like the guy on the gameshow that can take the free washer and dryer or opt for the mystery box, I just couldn’t resist. So I trotted into St. Joseph, Missouri’s Entertainmart and plopped down $14.99 for a bag of hope in the form or orphan compact discs.

BargainMusic

Before I delve into this bag of (likely not so) goodies I thought I’d guess a little bit at what I might find in it. The most obvious statement is that it is largely cds that nobody wants to buy anymore. With the cd market scraping lower than a gopher’s belly anyway this could get brutal. One thing is for certain, I’ve probably heard of many of the items in this bag, not so much because they are good but because they sold a lot of copies and their lasting power was lacking. I’m thinking of one-hit wonders and one-album wonders here, let’s just throw out OMC, Lou Bega and Chumbawamba. I’m going to focus primarily on the 1990s for the music in here because that is when people where buy cds like bread and milk before a snow storm.

Another area I think I’ll find a lot of is soundtracks. City of Angels, Titanic and Godzilla are all likely candidates here because people bought them for that song they really liked but grew weary of the hodgepodge of other music on the disc. I feel confident there will be at least 5 or 6 soundtracks here. Next I’ll look out of my comfort genre-wise, there is going to be some pop country and some classical stuff I would guess. It just seems like these things really populate the discount cd bins and I really struggle to begin to guess the specific titles. Maybe something by Trace Adkins or The Tractors on the country side and some interpretations of Mozart on the other. Some 90s R&B may be included, KC & Jo Jo type stuff.

The remainder will likely be music I’ve never heard of. There were tons of bands that had a push in the 90s when labels were searching for the next Metallica or U2. These could be interesting to listen to, hopefully I’ll have time to dig into the band a bit and might find some interesting connections.

The only thing that is left now is solving the mystery. Wish me luck in finding something cool and pray for strength in me fighting through listening to the garbage that I am sure to come across. (real garbage music, not the band Garbage because that would be AWESOME.)

Here are 5 official guesses for what I think I’m going to find:

  • OMC – How Bizarre
  • Chumbawumba – Tubthumper
  • Godzilla soundtrack
  • Savage Garden – Savage Garden
  • Blindside – Silence
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250 word album review: James Williamson and the Pink Hearts – Behind The Shade

Posted on May 29, 2018 by VocalsOnTop

James Williamson and the Pink Hearts - Behind The Shade

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Rock and Roll hall of famer James Williamson enlisted a couple ace vocalists for his new album “Behind The Shade” and you can clearly see how much they are capable of early in the album.

Frank Meyer and Petra Haden lend their talents to the former Stooge and the mixture of the two keep the album fresh with a couple of real standout tracks. The opening “Riot On The Strip” is a straight up punk rager. The song features what you can clearly identify as Williamson’s trademark guitar and Meyer’s aggressive vocals bring an angst far beneath his years to the song. The Streetwalkin’ Cheetahs frontman uses his punk background to knock the opening song out of the park. On the follow-up “Judith Christ” Williamson and company take on a straight up Thin Lizzy approach with the snarling vocals and glam rock sound. It fits that sound so well it could have been a Thin Lizzy a-side. Things take a step back with “Pink Hearts Across The Sky” with Haden singing, it seems like a natural changeup but some tacked on saxophone comes out of left field. Some other moments like “Purple Moon” and “You Send Me Down” are good but the album never gains back the momentum after the first two songs. The end of the album drags to a near halt with “Died A Little Today” following the title track. The last song really stands out as an anomaly on the album with nothing to connect closely to it.

The record is made up of a couple great songs, a couple good songs and a little too much filler overall. There are great musicians and great music here though which makes it worth checking out.

Key Tracks: “Judith Christ” “Riot On The Stip”

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VOT New Music Premier: Under The Big Oak Tree shares “The Ark”

Posted on May 25, 2018 by VocalsOnTop

In preparation for the summer release of Under The Big Oak Tree’s third album they have shared “The Ark.” Vocals On Top is proud to premier the track for the St. Joseph band. The Simon Fink penned song finds both Fink and primary lead singer Kristin Hamilton sharing the vocal duties. It also prominently features the newest member of Under The Big Oak Tree, Jason Riley on guitar.

Under The Big Oak Tree premieres The Ark ahead of their summer release of their album of the same name in summer 2018.

The dark and brooding song is representative of the themes on the new album of the same name. “The Ark” is a record that has been years in the making for the group. They are more accomplished and refined than they ever have been, including songs like “The Ark” prove that they are a band that has shifted to a darker tone as opposed to the light mood they have shown at times in the past. For followers of the group this first song off this new album may seem a bit out of character but these themes have often been present in much of their music in the past as well. The lyrics show the duality of life, measuring light against dark, hope and struggle and beauty and decay. The stark differences in the two singer’s vocals and approaches to the song even reflect this. You can hear the song below:

The excellent new track will be the final song on the album titled “The Ark” due in summer 2018. Look for several shows both ahead of and supporting the release in the coming months and in fall. To keep up with the band’s schedule and the impending release date for “The Ark” like their facebook page at this link.

Under The Big Oak Tree (Doug Ward, Kristin Hamilton, Simon Fink and Jason Riley)

Under The Big Oak Tree (Doug Ward, Kristin Hamilton, Simon Fink and Jason Riley) (photo by I Love KC Music)

 

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250 word album review: Ike Reilly – Crooked Love

Posted on May 22, 2018 by VocalsOnTop

Ike Reilly - Crooked Love

Stars4.5

In the mid and late 60s there was a certain group of musicians fighting for a sound that is hard to define. It was pure rock and roll but also had a sense of self deprecation and swagger all at once. Dylan and Lou Reed pulled it off but it still isn’t common to this day.

Enter Chicagoland’s Ike Reilly 50 years later, you’ll hear some singing organs, squealing guitars and lots of strong blues roots. You’ll also get Reilly’s spitfire lyrics that ultimately give the songs their humility and shameless honesty. On songs like “She Haunts My Hideouts” you’ll find Reilly talk-sing-rapping over a full band going for, as Dylan put it “that thin wild mercury sound.” You’ll find the blues littered all over here too, on “Been Let Down” Reilly gets into a backrooom lounge jam and on the closing “To Die In Her Arms” you’ll find some horns decorating another straight up blues romp. It gets a little political on “Bolt Cutter Again” as Reilly takes on Trumps travel ban head on with his signature storytelling style. The most intoxicating story may be “Clean Blood Blues” though, the track is a catchy, has some hot licks and again the spitfire lyrics with a backhanded sense of humor steal the show.

If you’re familiar with Ike Reilly and his Assassination you’ll love this record, if you’re not familiar it would be hard not to enjoy it as well. It is another great record in a long line of really strong recordings for one of the most underrated artists in the country.

Key Tracks: “Clean Blood Blues” “Bolt Cutter Again” “She Haunts My Hideouts”

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250 word album review: Jack White – Boarding House Reach

Posted on May 15, 2018 by VocalsOnTop

Jack White - Boarding House Reach

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At this point it may be the “cool” thing to do to hate on Jack White. This isn’t that, or at least it isn’t intended to be. His latest solo album just isn’t that interesting of a listen. It’s far from boring as far as music goes but it’s just a very difficult album to get on board with.

Jack White is extremely conscious of his own legacy and it seems like that is painted on everything he does. He is a legend already, an innovator and an amazing songwriter. The lead single “Connected By Love” is a typically strong first single from him, after that it gets sketchy. There is plenty of weirdness and electronic noises here like on “Hypermisophoniac” and “Why Walk The Dog?” but the songwriting is absent. What White has excelled at was writing great songs, here he focuses more on being strange and abstract. This has it’s value in music and it’s obvious that recycling old blues licks isn’t a sustainable career but too much weight is given to some Zappa-style weirdness. There are good songs here though so no fear, it just isn’t a great album through and through. The largely instrumental “Corporation” may be one of his best songs ever and “Ice Station Zebra” has a good groove cutting in and out and holds together as a good song.

Overall the record is random and hard to swallow all at once, there is a lot going on here. Only time will tell if White is simply ahead of the curb here but it just seems like this is White trying to be innovative and sacrificing his fantastic songwriting because of it.

Key Tracks: “Corporation” “Connected By Love”

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250 word album review: Arthur Alexander – One Bar Left

Posted on May 8, 2018 by VocalsOnTop

Arthur Alexander - One Bar Left

Stars2.5

Arthur Alexander is a long time musician but this is his debut album under his own name. The former member of The Poppees and Sorrow had many past successes with those bands before moving into the production side of music but now is looking to make a splash once again.

The album “One Bar Left” leaves a lot of questions as it is a shapeshifting album that is difficult to pin down. Alexander’s power-pop background shines through a lot. You can hear the crunch of the guitars and desire for lofty hooks on almost every song. The album is loose and sound like Alexander and company are having lots of fun. On the opening song “One Bar Left” you’ll find a punk approach as guitar licks ring out and the lyrics are spit out as fast as anywhere on the album, even at one point dropping a “wham bam thank you ma’am” during the song. On the tongue in cheek “Wang Dang Doodle” the you’ll hear one of the best hooks here and the song’s sing-along chorus sticks with you. It’s goofy and fun, as much of the record is. On “Mary Lou Mary Lou” you can hear what sounds like some Huey Lewis and the News influence on the very 80s sounding track. There’s a Sam Cooke cover of “Bring It On Home To Me” that is muscled up a bit but still delivered as a bit of a slow jam for a rock record.

The album sounds like a good bar band jamming out for much of it, it’s never imposing and gives you a wide shot of influences all in one place.

Key Tracks: “One Bar Left” “(She Got Me) Wang Dang Doodle”

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