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Record Guide hosted
by antiGUY
This time
around I thought we would do things a bit differently. We are launching
our new underGROUND section this month, so here you will be able to read
a couple of reviews/profiles of two of the indy artist featured there.
Also
we do receive fan reviews, and we have two great ones for you. These fans
said it better than I ever could, so enjoy those as well. If you want to
a review a cd, just write a couple of paragraphs telling the world what
you think of it and send it my way antiguy@antimusic.com
we be will more than happy to print it. (ok some won't make it but most
will)
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Drop everything and Buy
this CD |
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Great Stuff, get it soon. |
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Worth a listen |
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Only for the most Die-Hard
fans |
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A waist of packing material |
March
2000
Featured
Review: Epstein's Mother - Subtle
This
Las Vegas powerhouse have made a name for themselves by putting out smooth
alternative-pop music mixed with a funky under current. Those fortunate
enough to catch the band playing live have witnessed a pure rock show with
lots of energy and music that excites the listener.
read
the full review, hear some songs and enter for a chance to win a copy of
the cd
Featured
Review: Motorplant - Inside the Walnut
Motorplant
is no stranger to praise. They have accomplished what very few independent
bands fail to do, cracking mainstream radio. With one listen to their sophomore
CD release, Inside the Walnut", it is easily apparent why so many have
sung the praises of this band. You may have already heard Motorplant's
music and just don't know it. They have had music featured on MTV's road
rules and ESPN's X-games. Music fans in their home territory of New Hampshire
have heard them on college and mainstream radio stations, often topping
the local charts with their modern rock and pop songs. 254 college radio
stations across the U.S. added tracks from the Inside the Walnut to their
play list. Not to mention the notice they have received in the press, there
are just too many articles about these guys to count. Most significant,
Inside the Walnut landed Jam Magazines #1 local album of the year in 1998.
read
the full review, hear some songs and enter for a chance to win a copy of
the cd
Special Edition of the record
guide - Enuff Z'nuff Reissues
Like
many people I remember this band from back in 1990 when they were flying
high on MTV airplay with their hit single "Fly High Michelle". I can reflect
now on having liked the Beatlesq tune, but the bands post glam image was
confusing. They certainly didn't sound like Poison or Faster Pussycat.
They were closer to Cheap Trick or a hard rock version of the Beatles.
Then
the music world got turned upside down by Nirvana and this band like many
quickly faded into the black hole of memory. It was a year ago I had the
opportunity to rediscover them. I noticed an unnamed individual here wearing
an Enuff Z'nuff t-shirt. So I made a friendly jab about how glam was dead.
That was when all hell broke loose. The basic thrust of the tirade
that followed was I didn't know shit and if I thought Enuff Z'nuff was
a glam band I was a clueless moron. I had been accused of both counts
before, so I shrugged it off and figured this guy was having a bad day.
As I was ready to leave that night he handed me a stack of Cd's and said
"Take these home, listen to them and learn a thing or two."
Damn,
I hated homework in school and I already put enough over time here. But
when I got in my car curiosity got the best of me and I popped in one of
the CD's. I'm glad I did. I've since read hundreds of fan testimonials
calling this group the most over rated band of today, the Beatles of the
90's etc. I honestly have to agree with that assessment. I got home that
night and spent the night listening to the Enuff Z'nuff catalog.
The
main thing that struck me about this band was their diversity. They can
play convincing 80's rock but on the other hand they have great pop, hard
rock, and even country tunes. While with a lesser band this would seem
contrived, Enuff Z'nuff pulls it off without a hitch. Needless to say after
that night I have become a convert. And the old desert island scenario
that Howard Stern quipped about in regards to this band does hold true.
If I was stuck on a desert island, sure as hell a good collection of the
discs I would have in my collection would come from these guys.
Which
brings me to point of this special report. Like me, you are all being given
a second chance to discover this band. A good portion of their CD catalog
is getting a second hearing courtesy of a reissue on Spitfire Records.
My task here today will be to layout a quick critique of each disc for
you. I will add that sadly my favorite album, 1991's Strength, isn't
being reissued at this time, but we might get lucky at some future date.
Read
the album reviews for these Reissues
Fan
Review: “Listener Supported”, The Dave Matthews Band By Steven Shepard
“Listener
Supported”, the latest double live album release from the Dave Matthews
Band, is an engaging and delightful example of the appeal of the Charlottesville,
Virginia five piece. The album’s clever title pays homage to the rabid
brethren who have been packing in arenas and
amphitheaters
since 1995 and thrive off the spontaneity and energy of the band’s
smooth and unique sound. Much like 1997’s “Live At Red Rocks”, “Listener
Supported” showcases the band’s snappy pop numbers, Mr. Matthews clever
and thoughtful lyrics, and the ever present under-currents of a jazz band
hard at work.
The
album gets off to a ripping start with Rapunzel and also drops the
first hints as to who the real star of this show is, horn player Leroi
Moore. Mr. Moore’s sax playing for the ending “jam” is sultry and smooth
with the rest of the band popping and snapping to a glorious climax.
#41,
a fan favorite, is a testament to Mr. Moore’s flexibility as he swiftly
maneuvers between a flute and his saxophone. His nearly four minute sax
solo is breezy and in perfect harmony with the always changing tempo of
Carter Beauford’s drumming.
Mr.
Moore also gets cooking on Jimi Thing, which is lyrically a clever ode
to nature’s finest herb. The groove is part soul, part funk, and Mr.
Moore takes his time whipping his sax into a frenzy of high notes and nearly
bringing down the house. Both #41 and Jimi Thing are off Disc 1.
Other
standouts of Disc 1 are Crash Into Me which features the band building
slowly to a downright sexy peak while Mr. Matthews sweetly sings his heartfelt
pleas for attention as well as #36, a groovy mellowed out improvisational
number.
Disc
2 is almost as engaging as the 1st but it certainly doesn’t start out that
way. Too Much, one of the band’s most recognizable radio songs is a bore
as is the following True Reflections. Violinist Boyd Tinsley is successful
with the lead vocals on True Reflections but the song is lacking the playful
energy of the other songs.
One
of the strangest enigmas of the album is Two Step, a down-home stomp in
6/8 time with a call for everyone to celebrate. The song rails with passion
until the ending jam, which is given to supporting
keyboard
player Butch Taylor. Taylor’s stiff playing causes the song to meander
to an almost dead halt before Mr. Beauford can save it with a knock your
socks off drum fill that lasts in the neighborhood of 1
minute
and 10 seconds.
The
rest of disc 2 is the band at their finest. Granny swings with catchy harmony
as does the set closer Stay, and the band turns in a powerful and
grinding version of Don’t Drink the Water. Water moves the band into great
issue oriented song territory as vocally it’s sung from the point of view
of the greedy, slave-owning, white man and chronicles the banishment of
the Native American Indian off North American soil.
However
the crown jewel of Disc 2 is a cover of the Johnny Cash song Long Black
Veil. Mr. Beauford provides an eerily catchy backbeat and the musicians
gel perfectly for a dark and beautiful tale. In the right kind of mood
Long Black Veil can move you to tears. The album closes with a nod to Bob
Dylan with a ferocious version of All Along the Watchtower.
“Listener
Supported” is not for everybody but it should be. It’s refreshing to listen
to 5 musicians as opposed to pretty faces and loud guitars. With
yet another live album and sold out tour after tour the
Dave
Matthews Band are moving, dare I say, into Grateful Dead territory in appeal.
Are the Dave Matthews Band the Dead? Obviously not but they don’t have
to be. The times are different as well as the players but the appeal is
the same. It’s about the joy and release of great live music and
“Listener Supported” is a celebration of it.
The
writing of individual authors is the property of their respective owners
and is used here With permission. Please do not duplicate their work or
distribute it in any form without the prior written consent of the author.)
Listen
to sounds from this cd, then buy it.
What
do you think? Write a review and find out what other fans have to say about
this CD.
Bobby
Manriquez - "Another Shade of Blues" Fan Review by Jamie G.
Bobby
Manriquez's "Another Shade of Blues" opens with a sound track that brings
to mind a lone African lion wailing for a mate. What follows is some of
the most exciting, inspired and sensual kind of blues-rock that I've heard
in AGES !! All the songs are three things: great, different and totally
captivating. His guitar work is second to NONE in that genre. The inter-woven
partial blues tracks say to me that Bobby can DO "all that" and much, much
more."How We Start" is a piece I'd put next to ANY guitar "hero"'s work.
It just NEVER lets up ! I found Manriquez here at Rock' n World. I sure
hope the rest of the planet comes down to his earthy domain. ........Jamie
G.
Listen
to sounds from this cd, then buy it.
Your Turn.
Ok
we all know who's opinion matters the most. That is why we are giving you
the fans the opportunity to rate these albums.
March 2000
AC/DC
- Stiff Upper Lip
Bloodhound
Gang - Hooray For Boobies
Oasis
- Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants
Rollins
Band - Get Some Go Again
The
Smashing Pumpkins - Machina-Machines Of God
Feb 2000
Beck
- Midnite Vultures
The
Clash - From Here To Eternity: Live
DMX
- And Then There Was X
Jay
Z - Vol. 3...Life And Times Of S. Carter
Live
- The Distance To Here
Dave
Matthews Band - Listener Supported
Phish
- Hampton Comes Alive
Primus
- AntiPop
Stone
Temple Pilots - No. 4
Third
Eye Blind - Blue
Dec 1999
Tonic
- Sugar
Stuart
Smith - Heaven and Earth
Glimmer
- Silver Zone
Buckcherry
Rage
Against the Machine - The Battle of Los Angeles
Nine
Inch Nails - The Fragile
Korn
- Issues
Metallica
- S&M
Guns
n' Roses - Live
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