CD Review: ELIZABETH & THE CATAPULT - Taller Children

(This is a reprint of a review I did for the Illinois Entertainer a few months back.)

Elizabeth & The Catapult sounds more like a book kids would read than the name of a rock band. So maybe it should come as no surprise that many of the well-crafted songs on the trio’s latest release, Taller Children deal with people who still haven’t adjusted to the adult world. Singer/songwriter and keyboards player Elizabeth Abby Lynn Ziman renders these portraits with sharp lyrics, catchy melodies, and classic folk singer vocals.

“The Rainiest Day Of Summer” is an orchestrated tune that somehow evokes the 1940s while retaining a modern edge. “Momma’s Boy” has a ragtime feel sparked by Ziman’s playful piano playing and Maria Muldaur style vocals as she dismisses a beau who refuses to grow up. The quicker paced “Race You” captures the joy of childhood competition, while on the beautiful “Golden Ink,” Ziman sings, “everything is make believe.” The more electric “Hit The Wall” exudes a fighting spirit and “Right Next To You” casts a romantic spell via seductive vocals and a lush, soulful arrangement. The jazz-flavored title track adds yet another facet to Elizabeth & The Catapult’s eclectic approach.

The Bangles Belong On Lowen & Navarro Tribute CD

The Bangles have recorded the Lowen & Navarro song, “We Belong” for a new album of various artists honoring the duo for its impressive career as songwriters and performers. Keep The Light Alive - Celebrating The Music Of Lowen And Navarro draws musicians like The Bangles, Jackson Browne, and Keb Mo’ together in support of Eric Lowen, who was diagnosed with ALS five years ago. The CD is currently available from AIX Records, and will be available on iTunes as of December 10th. Proceeds will benefit The Eric Lowen Trust, ALS Association (Greater Los Angeles Chapter), and Augie’s Quest.

In other Bangles news, the band’s “Walk Like An Egyptian” will be “added next week to the Rock Band Music Store of downloadable content for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and Wii.” I’m quoting directly from The Bangles website because I have no idea what any of that means. I still have 45 records of The Bangles.

Still no word about the new CD The Bangles reportedly starting recording a few months back. Hopefully, the coming year will bring more info.

CD Review: R.E.M. - Live At The Olympia In Dublin

As R.E.M. takes the stage at the beginning of Live At The Olympia In Dublin, there’s a funny sounding announcement that declares, “This is not a show!” Technically, the statement is true since this new double CD is taken from a series of rehearsal sessions the band held in Ireland back in 2007 in preparation for its upcoming CD, Accelerate. The rehearsals were open to the public, and judging from these two discs, those audiences who packed the house on all five nights got their money’s worth.

Frontman Michael Stipe jokingly describes Live At The Olympia In Dublin as both a “grand experiment” and “an experiment in terror” and displays a self-effacing sense of humor throughout the proceedings. In addition to new material like, “Living Well Is The Best Revenge,” “Houston,” “I’m Gonna DJ,” and “Man-Sized Wreath” that would inspire talk of R.E.M.’s big comeback once Accelerate dropped, the band offered a retrospective that stretched back to its Chronic Town debut EP. The 39-song set list is rock solid despite leaving out favorites like “Radio Free Europe,” “Orange Crush,” “Stand,” and “Losing My Religion.”

The songs sound pretty much the same as they did on R.E.M.’s albums, with a minimum of jamming. Stipe takes good-natured pot shots as his early songwriting skills, introducing “1,000,000” with the quip, “lot of depth on this one,” and noting before “Kohoutek” that, “I did figure out in the late 1980s that narrative was not a terrible thing.” Still, the band’s earliest songs, such as “Wolves, Lower” and “Gardening At Night” stand the test of time. Ditto for “So. Central Rain,” “Disturbance At The Heron House,” and “Driver 8.” The stark and slow-moving “Drive,” the angular “Feeling Gravity’s Pull,” and the more ornate “Electrolite” are also impressive.

Live At The Olympia In Dublin covers a span of over two decades, but it’s more fun that the material isn’t presented in chronological order. It’s not every band that can reel off 39 of its own compositions and not have a single dud among them. As Stipe says at one point, “We’re R.E.M. and this is what we do.”

Everyone Knows It’s (W) Indie

Photo of Jerry Bryant from his Facebook page.

TV host Jerry Bryant will be honored for his years of promoting independent and cutting-edge music on November 19th when Columbia College, AEMM, and SWIM.RADIO present Keeping It (W) Indie - A Tribute To JBTV. The event, which promises “music, mayhem, and munches,” will be held from 6:00 to 9:00PM at Columbia College’s Stage 2 Theatre, 618 S. Michigan Avenue in Chicago. The entertainment includes Lester Jay and The Company, Mike Locke & Josue El Diligente, DJ Arkitek, and other special guests. You can send an e-mail to SWIM.RADIO@yahoo.com to RSVP or find out more information.

Bryant has been doing JBTV for 24 years, starting out on Chicago Cable Access TV. Throughout the history of his show, he has aired videos; presented live performances in the studio; and interviewed countless musicians, including Billy Corgan, Jeff Buckley, Pearl Jam, Joey Ramone, Radiohead, Henry Rollins, Juliana Hatfield, and P.J. Harvey. Bryant takes an amiable approach that puts his guests at ease and results in some fascinating insights into their music. JBTV nabbed a Regional Emmy for Outstanding Achievement, Entertainment Programming in 1995.

JBTV remains a Cable Access TV staple, and can also be seen on HDTV WJYS Ch 62-2. There’s an online site that offers new interviews and live performances on a regular basis. A search through its archives uncovers a treasure chest of performance footage. I recently watched a clip of Material Issue performing an acoustic version of “Merry Christmas Will Do” that underscores just how much we still miss Jim Ellison. JBTV has a MySpace page where Bryant spotlights upcoming acts like the all-woman band Sick Of Sarah.

Regardless of whether it’s on television or online, JBTV is a great program that deserves a wider audience and a stable future. Hopefully, the upcoming tribute will help achieve that.

Vintage Garage Rock, Chicago Style

Following up on my post last Friday suggesting that Ellen Degeneres join forces with Little Steven Van Zandt to promote power pop and garage rock music, I have started a Fans Of Power Pop And Garage Rock Music Who Watch Ellen group on The Ellen Degeneres Show Community page. Please feel free to join. I also sent e-mails to Ellen and Little Steven, explaining my plan.

In the meantime, here’s a review I wrote for the Illinois Entertainer a few months back, on the 2131 South Michigan Avenue 2-CD set. It’s being shown here with the magazine’s permission.

2131 South Michigan Avenue - 60’s Garage & Psychedelia from U.S.A. and Destination Records is a two CD set that serves as a sort of Windy City version of Nuggets in the way it digs up long-lost treasures. It harks back to the days when WLS fueled a thriving local music scene by playing bands who were signed to Chicago-based indie labels. U.S.A. Records, which initially concentrated on R&B, eventually signed so many garage rock acts, it needed to create a second label, Destination to handle the load.

Comprised of 40 tracks (from 22 bands) recorded on those two labels between 1966 and 1968, 2131 South Michigan Avenue proves how much Midwestern musicians were in tune with international pop music. The Foggy Notions, The Boyz, and The Ricochettes were obviously inspired by the British Invasion. The CD offers a demo of The Cryan’ Shames performing The Beatles’ “You’re Gonna Lose That Girl” and Trafalgar Square romping through The Kinks’ “Til The End Of The Day.” The Messengers’ hit “Midnight Hour” is included here as well as its B-side, a cover of The Hollies’ “Hard Hard Year.” The Daughters of Eve, the only all female act included on the set, flip the gender on an Animals song for “Help Me Boy.”

Oscar Hamod & The Majestics create an infectious R&B groove for “Soul Finger” and Gary and The Knight Lites (later to become The American Breed) sound like a Motown act on “I Don’t Need Your Help.” The chiming guitars on The Sheffields’ “Do You Still Love Me” evoke The Byrds, while Lord and the Flies and The Cherry Slush experiment with more psychedelic sounds. Several tracks, like “Come With Me” by The Boyz, “Time To Dream” by The Lost Agency, and “I’ll Make You Pay” by The Shady Daze, exhibit the unbridled energy of classic garage rock that acts like The Chesterfield Kings and The Urges still champion today.

2131 South Michigan Avenue is also an archive of Chicago bands who went on to longer lasting, national success. There’s a track by The Cryan Shames called “Ben Franklin’s Almanac,” while The Buckinghams’ cover of the blues classic “I’m A Man” is considerably rougher than their Top 40 hits. The Flock, who would record more progressive albums on the Columbia label, are represented with the pop-oriented “Are You The Kind.” Amazingly, not a single track on this compilation is a clunker. That’s either a testament to Chicago area bands of the mid-1960s or the folks who put *2131 South Michigan Avenue* together. Or both.

Laugh Dance G - L - O - R - I - A

Ellen & Halle Berry photo from The Ellen Degeneres Show Facebook page.

Ellen Degeneres came to Chicago today to join Oprah Winfrey on Michigan Avenue, where they autographed copies of the O Magazine that features both of them on the cover. It was a high-profile finale to a comic quest that Degeneres cooked up months ago on her daytime talk show. Both of these media stars are known for their generosity, and it’s likely this publishing coup will result in even more prizes and money for an American public that could definitely use some cheering up.

But now it’s time for Degeneres, who earlier succeeded in luring George Clooney onto her show, to take on a new challenge. One based on something she loves: Music. Every episode of The Ellen Degeneres Show kicks off with Degeneres dancing with audience members to tunes cranked out by her onstage DJ Tony Okungbowa, and later, there’s usually a live performance from a current recording artist. She often dances and sings with her guests. Degeneres is no kid anymore, but she still thrives on cutting edge, energetic music. Generally, she leans toward rap and hip-hop, judging from her show, as well as her brand new online music page.

Maybe Degeneres could also give some props to garage rock and power pop. Like hip-hop, these often overlooked sub-genres of rock and roll provide a powerful incentive to move your feet and groove to the beat, and exude a certain underground mystique. Garage rock and power pop songs rarely make the charts, but bands like The Chesterfield Kings, Cheap Trick, and Fountains Of Wayne could open an exciting new world to Ellen viewers.

Just as Degeneres teamed up with Winfrey, she could join forces with Little Steven Van Zandt, who hosts the syndicated Underground Garage radio show. He could share his garage rock and power pop expertise with her, while her media savvy could result in a much wider audience for the bands he so valiantly champions. Imagine The Len Price 3 or The Urges rocking the house on The Ellen Degeneres Show. Of course, Tony could stay, but hopefully he’d mix in an occasional “Gloria” by The Shadows Of Knight or “Blood & Roses” by The Smithereens.

Van Zandt is aiming to launch an ambitious interactive website called Fuzztopia early next year that would enable bands to promote their music by posting profiles, videos, and songs. Degeneres is genuinely passionate about helping people and fostering creativity, so this would be right up her alley. And wouldn’t be great to see her and Van Zandt sharing the cover on magazines like Rolling Stone, Q, and Mojo?

CD Review: Cocktail Slippers - Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre

On their 2007 debut, Mastermind, the Cocktail Slippers sounded like they couldn’t decide whether to aim for a highly commercial sound or follow the less financially secure garage rock path recommended by their mentor, Little Steven Van Zandt. The result was an uneven and at times, timid effort from this promising five-woman band from Oslo, Norway.

This year’s Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre, once again on the Wicked Cool label, is much stronger. “Sentenced To Love,” a punchy, garage rock song filled with clever legal metaphors, kicks off the disc in an energetic fashion.

Van Zandt co-produced the CD with the band members, who sound more accomplished and confident. He also wrote the catchy title track, which uses gangster lingo to describe the perils of romantic entanglements. Like all of the songs on Massacre, it’s a winning blend of garage rock, power pop, and the early 1960s girl group sound. The Cocktail Slippers have also perfected their harmonies, frequently joining lead singer Modesty Blaze for some spirited vocal interplay on songs like “Gotta Crush” and “In The City.”

“Heard You Got A Thing For Me,” which sports a light and exotic arrangement, is another Van Zandt composition. “Don’t Ever Leave Me” is a successful update of the 1964 Connie Francis hit written by Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry. The Cocktail Slippers allude to Greenwich’s “Da Doo Ron Ron” on their own hard-edged song, “You Do Run.” “She’s A Fool,” originally recorded by Leslie Gore, is another golden oldie that Cocktail Slippers make their own. Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre hasn’t earned the Cocktail Slippers megastar status, but it’s a definitely a well-crafted effort.