Alternative Rock music reviews

I stumbled across this in a used record store a few years ago and I'm glad I did. This is one of Blue Rodeo's better performances. There are enough production qualities of the times to give it that "dated" sound, but the songwriting and performance punches through all of that to create a nice record.
Jim Cuddy really shone as a stellar songwriter here with "Til I Am Myself Again", "Montreal" and "After The Rain". Greg Keelor didn't miss a beat either. His better offerings were "What Am I Doing Here" and "Last Laugh", though he, more than Cuddy, tended to get a little too aggressive and repititious, which kept this album from getting 5 stars.

Are you the kind of person who likes full-length ALBUMS, as opposed to today's constant need for a "single"? If you like to put the CD on and let it play all the way through (like we used to do back in the day with R.E.M.), then you will LOVE this CD. And after reading all the reviews here on Amazon, I can't believe no one has mentioned what a catchy tune "What am I doing here" is! I owned this album wayyyyy back in the early 90's when I was a college DJ and have seen these guys play live - they have a definite "bar band" sound. Enjoy!

Certainly. I bought this when it came out twelve years ago, and I still listen to it today. Why? Becasie EVERY song is well-crafted and timeless. Notables are "Last Laugh" which is a deceptively complex song with sections that could easily be tunes on their own. BR wisely does not exploit this quality but instead has you longing for more. "Til I am Myself" is a great tune that is fun to play on guitar. "Montreal" is a sweet, lilting song, while "Time to Kill" is something that would sound great if any garage band attacked it.

My wife tried ordering this item thru a Amazon listed seller (caiman) December the 10th it was due to ship out in 3 days (for a x-mas present nonetheless), by end of January it had not shipped. I cancelled our order with caiman and tried to order thru AMAZON itself the same day Feb 3rd i believe. Here it is March the 20th. No nothing , just an endless extending wait. Apparently AMAZON & their sellers feel they can list items they dont , wont and cant stock. Dont waste your time. I just cancelled my order and bought it on E-BAY , it will ship tommorow. Forget Amazon, or unless you like being blown off endlessly by email with no LIVE person to talk to, then by all means order this thru Amazon (or Caiman!). I prefer to spend my money else-where, this has really soured me.

5 great CD's with great songs like "Crossing Over" or "Mao Reminices About his Days in Southern China". The songs on Greatest Hits Played Faster, the live CD, sound better than the recordings on Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart or Key Lime Pie. It is relatively cheap for a 5 CD set.

In my wallet I keep a "want list" of music and movies for all of those times I find myself in a store and can't remember that album or movie I wanted. One of the first entries is "Camper Van Beethoven--First three albums". Finally, this wonderful boxed set is available. The collection includes, as stated, all of the band's work from the Santa Cruz years. The CD cases are cardboard miniature reproductions of the original album jackets and the fourth and fifth discs are rarities and a live disc. If you remember the fun of their music and haven't heard it for a while, get this set. It brought back memories of a less responsible time and the music, it seems, hasn't been remastered leaving the vocals slightly buried which was always a part of their sound I liked. They could entertain you with light ska instrumentals or rock with catchy guitar riffs. The extensive liner notes are interesting too, except the part where the writer tries to defend the band's selling out as not selling out but simply wanting to sign to a bigger label to make their music more available. No problem here with selling out if you don't change your music to do it; and that's exactly what they did. I feel their major label stuff just isn't as fun as the early stuff..... and Cracker was horrible. If you remember why you liked Camper Van Beethoven in the first place, buy this set.

Timms has several 5-star performances (S. Waltz, Snowbird)... in fact, all but a couple could be so classified. Those couple (and I'm thinking specifically of Cry x3) are pleasant and even lovely but not as gorgeous as the rest of the album. Sort of like comparing South Padre Island beaches at sunset to Bali anytime--the former is damned nice at times but not overwhelming all the time.

Analogies aside, Timms deserves a lot of credit for producing an album that strives for the energy of altcountry while avoiding too much GenX irony. It's definitely postmillenial, but not as studied as Prairie Home Companion, though Timms would be an appropriate guest.

Great effort.

As other reviewers noted, this is a unique album by a great singer with a lovely voice. What I'd like to know is: "Who is 'Celine' credited for all instruments on the incredible "When The Roses Bloom Again."

The Bluegrass chops that kick that song off must come from somebody who grew up on Del McCoury. It could be Del McCoury! Along with McCoury's "High on a Mountain," Sally's version of "When the Roses Bloom Again" ranks at the top of my "Opening Measures that Grab You" list.

I ordered this album not really knowing what to expect, but it was one of the best purchases I've made in a long time. I ordered Emmylou Harris's Songs of the West at the same time, but this was actually better! It is very artisticly done, and touches my deepest emotions. It shows that western music and good art are not incompatible. Only two complaints: Cry, Cry, Cry & no lyricsheet.

Adamson was a brilliant entertainer and musician, and his tragic death can be remembered by this incredible debut album.
Not a dud track and still great after 20 years.

A must get CD

I recently picked up The Crossing as a digitally remastered CD containing additional tracks beyond the original release. It was years since I had this album, and quite honestly, I had forgotten how remarkable it is. Big Country's debut is infectious, energizing, affective, and unique. These guys wrote and performed with all the energy and sincerity of soul, making the music on The Crossing both powerful and captivating. I was very pleased to discover that the additional tracks that have been added to this remastered CD are just as compelling as the originals. The Crossing continues to be one of my very favorite albums from the 80's, one of those rare albums that I enjoy as much (or even more) today as I did "back in the day."

I first saw & heard Big Country back in'83-84 when TBS use to play videos on Friday & Saturday nights on a show called Night Tracks. My only exposure to the band was the video, "In A Big Country", which I loved for it's unique sound. After arriving in South Korea, where I was serving in the U.S. Army for a year,I found the cassette EP, Wonderland, and picked it up and promptly wore it out. I've been hooked on the band ever since.

All the reviews before mine spell it out, this is one unique and fabulous album. If you get the chance also pick up the King Biscuit Flower Hour album featuring Big Country in concert, it is basically a live version of The Crossing.

This is a live album by "America's instrumental rock & roll combo". It was recorded at The Foothill Tavern in Long Beach, California. It's around an hour long. Solid performances by the group, as you would expect. Fans of the group should enjoy it.

This CD is an excellent example of a Los Straitjackets live show. This is the best CD released by Los Straitjackets to date in my opinion. I have had the opportunity to see Los Straitjackets perform in person twice. Both times in shows with The Ventures, who have sold more albums than any rock instrumental group ever. Los Straitjackets are as good. This CD really captures the atomosphere of a live concert and is a must for any instrumental rock guitar group fan.

Los Straitjackets are the most consistently exciting neo-surf band around, and proof that true rock n'roll isn't dead. They wear Mexican wrestling masks, compose most of their own music, and manage to respect surf music tradition while throttling the daylights out of their instruments! This is very tough, very cool music without any of the intellectual baggage associated with other bare knuckles styles of music.

'Damas Y Caballeros' capture Los Straitjackets live and in their element. Much like the Ventures did in the 1960s, Los Straitjackets always record quickly and directly with a minimum of studio fuss. So, while this live CD lacks a bit of the sheen of a studio CD, even Los Straitjackets' studio CDs are amazingly direct and no-frills by current production standards. As you'd expect from a concert CD, this is basically a live recording of 'Los Straitjacket's Greatest Hits.'

If you only buy one Los Straitjackets CD, make it this one. But you *will* want more. Trust me.

I am a relative newcomer to the Christian rock scene. I was looking for a cool, contemporary, real sound with a good, solid, not corny message. I listened to a lot of samples. And I made the perfect choice in downhere's self-titled album. Their sound reminds me at times of U2, Counting Crows, Neil Young, Creedence Clearwater, even Springsteen (ok, I have a great imagination...).
The first track, "Larger Than Life," is from the movie Joshua, which is where I heard these guys. Other great tracks are Protest to Praise, Raincoat and Making Me. I can listen to this stuff working out, even! The language is very common and natural,not preachy. Just right for me.

I saw these guys at R.Y.O.T in Indiana last summer.They gave us a awsome night of worship.I got to meet them before worship and after and they are truly all men of GOD.They signed CDs and shirts and fellowshipped with the kids.My son bought the CD and we listen to it all the time.A must have for all.

What I love best about Downhere is that they are not afraid to write honest lyrics that don't try to cover up all the problems of the world. In the Christian music scene, there are way too many songs saying "Jesus makes all things great - so smile and be happy!"

Downhere takes the road less-travelled and comes through with songs like "Protest to Praise" *quotes* "I'm wrestling my thoughts, I'm overcome - would you give me up? I'm asking, Lord, There's nowhere I sense your presence here..." Their songs acknowledge that being a believer in Christ doesn't mean life on Earth will be like a bed of roses.

Not all the songs take such a serious route. Worship songs and praise choruses also abound - my favorites being "Free Me Up" and "Great Are You".

This is a group who doesn't conform to the culturally accepted bubblegum feel-goody Christian songs. Two thumbs up to Downhere - you guys are awesome and I highly respect your decisions to value your art above your "marketability"! Stay true to your messages and you will go far!

On first hearing, this recording seemed way too familiar.

Haven't we been over this road SO many times since it was first paved by the Byrds, then Gram Parsons & The Flying Burrito Bros., then the (early!) Eagles, etc. etc. with sproadic revivals by REM and Wilco?

And aren't the echoes reverberating every single night in half the bars in Boulder and Santa Cruz?

Yes. But...

Nadine offers such a fresh and sincere serving, with subtle updates and crafty songwriting, that even these tired ears perked up.

They keep it midtempo, mostly mellow. Neil Young meets Coldplay, say. Transparent production, honest & uncomplicated arrangements. Simple songs with sly modernisms tucked away, and hooks that catch on the second, not the first, listening.

This is a joy, even if you think you've heard it all before.

buy this one right now. you won't be sorry.

Just listened to this CD for about the 1000th time. I normally listen to R & B or talk radio, but this is THE cd for those who like soulful classic rock and roots instrumentation. Great production and songwriting, along with special care given to the guitar and organ sounds.

I like all of the tracks, especially #1 closer, but #4 is the best. My boo Megan always knods in approval when she hears the opening lyric in song #4: ..."she's a trial and error kind of girl", while I love the reference to the "Drug store towns of Southern Illinois"...

Listen to track 2, and you will hear more great writing. Listen closely and you will know that the song is about the "brighter future" that may await an indy band when they sign a record deal. With references to "barrels of cold hard cash that you could---learn to love"...you see that the band has minimal interest in a big record signing, which is amongst the reasons that they probably warrent one.

BUY this CD and you will love it forever

Peter Noonan, pianist, St. Louis, MO

These two very talented and beautiful ladies deserve so much more attention for their true musical gifts. They keep turning out some of the best music ever and hardly anyone gets the chance to hear it or know about it. This cd is just too cool to describe. You better buy it and see what Wendy and Lisa have created.

...which is saying quite a bit, because their other albums are very very good.

The only word that truly does this album justice is MASTERPIECE. Period. All musical genres aside, it stands on its own in any context.

Every time I try to describe the sound of this work the one description I keep coming back to is "big". Big, big sound. Wheras Girl Bros is a more intimate experience, this is exactly the opposite. It is an explosion. The music envelops you, cascades over you, but does so without being overwhelming or giving you sesory overload. Every song on this album is unbelievably strong and has incredible depth. I can't find one single track that could use improvement. They are as close to perfect as you are going to get.

The reveiewer who said that this is a great headphones album is absolutely correct. This is the perfect way to experience Eroica.

This album is always on the top of my stack of CDs and has been in heavy rotation in my music library ever since I bought it. It never gets old.

I can't tell you how frustrating it is when brilliant musicians like Wendy and Lisa just don't get the recognition that they deserve. If record sales truly reflected the greatness of an album, Eroica would have gone double platinum at the very LEAST.

so the ladies pulled a 360!!!!!this wasn't a r&b funk album!this was a rock influenced jam session!i can highlight this album by saying"mother of pearl","skeleton key","strung out"and the awesome lisa on"dont try to tell me"!!!!!i never buy an album that has less than three cuts on it!this is the type of album you by and not hear a track!it is a masterpiece!!!!!cpoe it while its around because it was and is a all-around vicious album!!!!!

I, like countless other fans across America and the world beyond, was introduced to the Dolls via the song that began to build their punk-cabaret empire: "Coin-Operated Boy." Oh yes, the infamous "Coin-Operated Boy." It is a wonderful song dripping with double-entendre ("Is she talking about what I think she's talking about?" gasps one horrified mother) with lines like "Many shapes and weights to choose from / I will never leave my bedroom / I will never cry at night again / Wrap my arms around him and pretend."

While some have decided to delve further into this fresh, exciting sound, others just chuckle at the wit of the song and return to their own music library, never to give the Dolls another thought. I know I did, anyway. And what a shame it was, too - if I hadn't been reintroduced to the Dresden Dolls and their self-titled debut album several months after hearing "Coin-Operated Boy" on my favorite radio station, well, I would be missing out on a chunk of musical history in the making. For it's definitely somewhere big vocalist/pianist/songwriter Amanda Palmer and drummer Brian Viglione are heading - you can be sure of that.

THE DRESDEN DOLLS kicks off with a tinkling toy piano prefacing "Good Day," Palmer's insistence that she has moved on from an ugly breakup and is having too good a day to let herself be dragged back into the muck. This, unfortunately, is one of the only happy messages in an album riddled with painful introspective thought and endless pity parties which I, for one, grew tired of indulging. Palmer seems to triumph over many of her problems - but not without telling you the whole story first, an act which, at first completely entrancing, becomes dull and frustrating on repeat listens. Haunting melodies on songs like "Missed Me" and "Half Jack" are combined with lyrics that scream not only for redemption, but attention: "Hope you're happy in the county penitentiary / It serves you right for kissing little girls / But I will visit if you miss me."

But the album is not without a sense of fun; Palmer roars with sharp wit and obvious satisfaction in songs like "Girl Anachronism" and "Bad Habit," the piano mutating at once from mellow and companionable to fast-paced and angry as the duo picks up the pace and draws you in, helpless to do anything but listen to what they have to say. "The Jeep Song" examines that feeling of your heart skipping a beat every time you see the car your ex used to drive at the stoplight with you; and the eight-minute, exceptional closer "Truce," which after countless listens still gives me shivers, tells the story of a couple who once felt like they owned the world, but after a breakup have to split it in two ("We can split Germany right down the middle / You'd hate it there anyway / Take Berlin and we'll call it even"). For me, there is no end of unforgettable, quotable lyrics Palmer has to offer - but some of them edge too deeply on the self-flagellating side for me to really love them.

Despite what I've said about THE DRESDEN DOLLS, it is an absolute must-buy. This Boston-based duo will surely have to have to split the world right in two, because by the end of "Truce" you feel almost certain they'll end up ruling it.

Love this CD. I purchased it not knowing what it was about and I'm glad I did. My favorite songs are:
1. Good Day
2. Girl Anachronism
4. Half Jack
6. Coin-Operated Boy
7. Gravity
8. Bad Habit
9. The Perfect Feet
10. The Jeep Song
11.Slide
12. Truce
Every song is different and comes with its own style. I still listen to it and feel like it's brand new.

The Dresden Dolls are just one of those bands. You either get them or you don't, which isn't intended as a judgment on those who don't. The opening track is a slowly developing song that follows a sort of anthemic rise. This is pretty disconcerting at first since the Dolls play only piano and drums. It feels totally out of left field. Then comes the rollicking punk of Girl Anachronism. After the overtly musical-theatrical Missed Me, the oddity disappears. The music is still unusual, but it suddenly feels perfectly normal to hear it. They are exactly what they label themselves: Brechtian punk cabaret, and that seems like nothing out of the ordinary.

The rest of the album settles into a perfect rhythm of beauty punctuated by the whimsy of C-O-B and occasional moments of hurt and anger. If you make it through the last four tracks without loving it, you are a much harder soul than I am.

Let's be clear: this isn't original music at all; the truly original can't be labeled by words we already use for music. So "Brechtian punk cabaret" can't be original. But it sounds so different from anything you've ever heard, there are moments that you'll find yourself feeling as if you are hearing music for the first time.

Hikaru needs to return to her R&B/hip-hop roots. Exodus is unbearably disappointing compared to how good First Love and Distance were. This album is so over-synthesized, it's like listening to a soundtrack from the Disneyland Mainstreet Electrical Parade. I don't know if some idiot producer told her that Asians can't do R&B but that they can do synth-pop; that person needs to be fired. I've purchased Ultra Blue, keeping my fingers crossed that it will be better than this nightmare of an album. For everyone who insists that this album is brilliant, well, there is a reason that it bombed in the U.S. (other than an apparent lack of promotion by her record company)-- it is really bad. I am giving it 2 stars instead of 1 because parts of it are at least listen-able.

Majority of this CD is great, but there are those certain songs that are either annoying or just plain boring and have to many sounds going on at once. Not that I have a problem with layered songs, it's the sounds that she'll use.

The songs that I do not like are:

"Tippy Toe," personally, there are two reasons for not liking this song. First off, the chorus is much to high and annoying. Second, the song is about an affair and she is the other woman. The whole song is about sneaking behind one's back.

"Wonder 'Bout," I just find it boring. No real surprises in the song.

"About Me," This song has such potential but is completely ruined. It seems as if it's going to build up to this amazing chorus, then it drops and is very...boring.

But all in all, the CD is worth the purchase. I listen to it over and over.

I've always loved Hikki, but that isn't the reason why i loved this album. It's so unique! It's a bummer it didn't make it in the US. I think if Hikki can balence her good lyrics and japanese music that she writes she can make it here!!