Tuesday, July 3, 2012

CD Review: The Red Plastic Buddha - All Out Revolution


I hope everyone has a fun and safe 4th of July Eve. Here’s a review I wrote for the Illinois Entertainer a while back. 

The Red Plastic Buddha sports a sort of mind-blowing 1960’s name, so it’s not surprising to find rampant psychedelia on its latest release, All Out Revolution. Vocalist-bassist Tim Ferguson advocates peace and love on the melodic “Star Shaped Holes,” and evokes a British Invasion hit single with the sunny “Daisy Love.”  (There's a video for  “Daisy Love” on YouTube. I'm not sure if it was done by the group itself or a fan, but it's very effective in capturing the song's flower power vibe.)

There’s a bit too much slow material on All Out Revolution, but fans of Nuggets style rock will embrace “King Of The Underground” and a cover of The Electric Prunes’ “I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night).”

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I thought that Sad Girl sounded like the Rutles or Spinal Tap or the Troggs (and not in a good way), but the rest of the album is pretty fantastic, no?

Unknown said...

Hi Terry - This is a delayed response to an old post, but pertaining to a great album which has rewarded repeated listenings these many months. Tim has a creative mind and a fantastic ear as musician and producer. Just listen to his deft touch as producer of wife Pam Richardson's Pralines, stylistically very different from RPB.
As for 'AOR', I do think that 'Sad Girl' perhaps unintentionally approaches a Rutles/Tap/Troggs-esque level of sophomoric pathos, but the rest of the album is entrancing. Maybe the only other detraction I might add is that the tacked-on Prunes cover here (and their more-recent Love cover) are pretty lackluster and workman-like, compared to RPB's original material. Very much looking forward to new recordings from Tim and the RPBuddhists!

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