Review of GHS 3 by Frank Gambale, Stuart Hamm, Steve Smith ****

An Often Overlooked Treasure.

This album is a summit of lesser known virtuosos from my parents generation.  That is, these names probably aren’t common knowledge to most folk.  I can totally see GHS 3 appealing to a wider audience than it was actually marketed to.  That is, if it was marketed at all.  This is jazz fusion, but comes across like a really good jam band.  There is quite a bit of instrument jamming that I think most hippies would appreciate.  If I remember correctly, Frank Gambale got started with Chick Corea’s jazz fusion effort, “Return to Forever.”  That was also the starting point for Al di Meola’s career, who is probably the most popular jazz guitarist today.  Back then, this sort of sound was visionary.  The sad thing is, a lot of it has gotten lost in the shuffle of good music.  Many may have heard of Weather Report or that Miles Davis played jazz fusion late in his career, and that was controversial among musicians, but most probably do not remember efforts like Return to Forever or the Mahavishnu Orchestra, which were also important and influential bands in the movement toward fusion of jazz and rock.  Everyone who is younger and unearths this old music that was cutting edge in my parents’ generation, unearths a treasure.  Stuart Hamm has been the bass player for Satch, where when he played in that band he was asked to play the part of the rather boring background music while Satriani, the guitarist, went crazy.  I like Satch’s band ChickenFoot better than his solo career because in ChickenFoot it doesn’t seem like he tries to be the only center of attention.  I remember several times people telling me not to listen to the Satch if I wanted to listen to Stuart Hamm’s better work, and they were correct.  I was surprised that the Satch band formula worked, as it is seems very calculated.  However, to keep the rhythm section simple was probably the secret to Satriani’s success, as if he offered a greater slab of music, it may not have been palatable to a wide audience.

Review of Scarsick by Pain of Salvation *

Nice Try!

Pain of Salvation is among the few progressive acts that I couldn’t recommend with a clear conscience.  Though there is some skill in playing this, Pain of Salvation has zero talent.  The reason I gave it a star is because they attempted to play complex music.  I like music simply if an effort is put into making it!  In this case, better to try and fail, than not to try at all.  I don’t understand what kind of sound Pain of Salvation is trying to achieve.  The vocalist opens his mouth, and within moments I am eager to take this out of the player.  It’s neither dorky nor cool nor funny.  I can’t even laugh at this!  Perhaps, someone who likes Disturbed could appreciate this.  However, though they are a progressive band, Pain of Salvation is not even as good as Disturbed.

Greg Howe by Greg Howe *****

Too Good to Gain Him a Following?

It is nothing but a mystery to me that with this album Greg Howe did not gain much of a following.  It makes me want to cry foul!  This album, and just about every album Greg Howe has put out is just as good as anything Joe Satriani has ever put out, and in my opinion actually better.  There are definitely a lot of notes on this album, but it is not just an album for musicians.  It’s catchy.  This album is definitely a different style that what he put out in his later work, but it is every bit as good.  Perhaps, racism was the reason he never got as popular as some of the other guitar virtuoso, but that is water over the dam.  This album established Greg Howe as being among the best in the world on guitar, no arguments are possible to be made to that claim.  He has toured with Michael Jackson, and though Michael Jackson is not my favorite artist, at the time, he could have afforded any guitarist that he wanted, and he chose Greg Howe.  Who is Greg Howe?  People that know their good guitar albums know that he is among the 5 best today.  People that don’t know guitar have probably never heard of him.  My favorite of his albums is Introspection.  Introspection has more of a jazz fusion sound, while this, his first effort is more rockin’ in the Joe Satriani style though his signature style is instantly recognizable from any guitarist I know of.  By the time I have recommended the Red Hot Chili Peppers to someone who likes sophisticated music, he would have probably already written me off before I could tell him just how good, and sophisticated Greg Howe is!

Review of Ten by Pearl Jam. *****

One of the 10 Best of the 90s in Pop Rock

I love this album now every bit as much as I did when it came out in 8^th grade.  I love every song on it.  And, I won’t let it bother me that Pearl Jam got as popular as they did.  The songs on this album identified with the pauper, and not so much the rich man.  Before Ten was released it was unknown how good it would sell, so it’s not as Eddie is singing down to the poor folk.  When the album was written, in all probability Pearl Jam would end up that way.  In music, popularity is very comparable to a roll of the dice.  The odds are not in your favor.  So, Eddie became an advocate for the success of the underdog in life, and his band turned out to be a success.  I can’t think of many instances where that has happened.  Most of time pop music is about and for rich kids that get everything handed to them.  Sure, there are tons of songs out there about drugs and junk, but this album is not about that, it is more about trying to promote justice on earth.  I don’t believe Pearl Jam was ever able to rock as hard after this album.  The secret of this album is that not only is it instantly recognizable, but the lyrics, and song delivery come across as if Pearl Jam is out to play more than a song.  They have a message.  It is a priestly message, and they took a huge risk that people wouldn’t want to hear about, poor folk, abused folk, people with personality disorders etc., in an empathetic way.  As far as rock that charted, I would definitely put Ten in my top 10 albums of the 1990s.

Review of Seven by Stryper ***

An excellent album if you like heavy metal.

Okay Stryper is on an evangelistic mission and I am not Christian, nor do I have any intention of becoming one, but this stuff is great 80s hair band heavy metal.  I could care less about their mission.  I listen to several bands where I don’t necessarily agree with their lyrics, but I don’t let that stop me from enjoying the music.  And, in this case I don’t care so much about the bands mission as that they are just a plainly talented band that is a little cheesy.  I once saw them live, and they put on a good show.  Musically, there is not much difference between Stryper, and Motely Crue, Poison, or Skid Row.  And, of course those bands are all essentially copy cats of bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.  If you don’t like any of those three that are among the more popular 80s bands, then maybe you won’t like Stryper, and that is okay because I am not on an evangelistic mission to get you to like Stryper or heavy metal.  However, Stryper’s vocalist has a tremendous set of pipes with an incredible voice that should be enough to impress any musician.  In fact, all the musicians in Stryper are very talented.  I usually don’t like power ballads, but Honestly, which was Stryper’s greatest hit is actually really good.  Instead of reminding me about Gd, it reminds me about a kind and loving pet with lines like, “And through the years I will be a friend for always.”  Pets seem to love unconditionally.  Seven is a greatest hits album, and in my opinion it is the best of their hits collections.  It is chock full of fun songs, many of which will probably make you laugh at their silliness.  If you buy this album, then there is no need to buy any other of Stryper’s albums.

Review of The Assault on Reason by Al Gore ****

Downright scary!

Most of us need to watch less television.  This book presents a compelling argument for that.  His discussion of how the quality of news needs improving is also quite compelling.  Very accurately, he presents that near sighted economics is one reason that society’s reasoning is being assaulted.

Review of The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout **** Kind of Scary, but Still Fun to Read

I found this book reported a lot of information that is good to know.  Protect yourself from evil doers.  Information is power.  And, wisdom is greater than folly.  However, her claim that 5% of us are sociopaths seems a little high, but maybe that is because I live in a good area.

Review of The Blessed and The Damned by Iced Earth *****

Some of the Best the Genre Has to Offer.

This album is great.  Get it!  It is one of the best packages metal has to offer.  Every song is classic!  I totally love the concept of how the songs were grouped where one disk is, “The Blessed,” and the other disk is, “The Damned.”  Naturally, a listener will gravitate toward one or the other.  I happen to like The Damned best mainly because it evokes happy emotions in me, while The Blessed seems more mysterious to me.  I like the lyrics when Iced Earth sings stuff like, “There is an angel watching over me, an angel guarding me.”

One thing it seemed my generation could not understand very well is that just because metal was often heavy, fast, using distortion, or was metal, that it had to be angry and evil.  People where looking for hidden messages in metal.  The Republican right wing outright condemned it, and sought about ways to bring about its demise.  Beneath this rubble of despicable contempt for metal, arose Iced Earth that proved that heavy metal didn’t have to be Christian or that metal was not necessarily the music of the devil.  If nothing else, a moral crusader probably wouldn’t make Iced Earth their first choice to try to snuff because in all reality, their music is PG.

Review of The Art of Balance by Shadow’s Fall ***

Solid Output from One of the Better Slayer Babies

My greatest criticism of this sort of band is when they play something that is indistinguishable in style from another band.  Slayer could have written, and performed any of these songs because Shadow’s Fall plays Slayer’s style.  Thus, Shadow’s Fall might as well have been a Slayer cover band.  There are a few negligible differences, but for the most part they are negligible.  For example, the style of vocals is a little different from Slayer’s.  However, many bands are doing this same sort of style with their vocals by mixing sung vocals with throat vocals, and then having still other vocals with some rasp, so that is not original nor special either.

If you are able to put all those things aside, Shadow’s Fall actually isn’t that bad of a band.  If you want to know what Shadow’s Fall sounds like, I encourage you to buy an album like Reign in Blood by Slayer, and then if you like that, then Shadow’s Fall will probably be a good choice for you, as you will know exactly what they sound like.  Some people just can’t get enough of this style.  If that is the case with you, then this album is for you!  Because for what it is, even though everything on it has been done before and it is completely unoriginal, it is well done.

Review of You Go Now by Chroma Key *****

Moody and Relaxing

This album is slow and moody, but it doesn’t put me to sleep.  I have to wonder how many people remembered Kevin Moore when he played in Dream Theater when they bought this album?  Kevin Moore was Dream Theater’s keyboardist for their classic album that catapulted them into the world known progressive rock acts.  At the time though, Dream Theater was still probably unknown to most people.  However, without Images and Words, the success of When Dream and Day Unite would not have been great enough to make Dream Theater a force to be reckoned with.  So, what do I think about Kevin Moore’s contribution to that album?  Generally, I think most of his keyboard work is a little hokey on Images and Words.  At the time, I don’t think keyboard technology had come along enough for it to be any better.  However, Kevin Moore is a credited song writer on the best songs on Images and Words.  What’s more, he was Dream Theater’s lyricist.  I don’t believe Dream Theater ever produced songs with lyrics where as good as they where since Kevin Moore played in the band.  That said, you might wonder if his keyboard sounds hokey on the album You Go Now.  It doesn’t.  Kevin Moore’s keyboard word on You Go Now is genius.  With Kevin Moore in the lead of his band, the band comes together much better than he was able to do when he played in DT.  He has his own ideas about music, and most people don’t share them.  However, I think he is amazing.  He is definitely not out to wow you.  His musicianship is all about song craft, and sometimes Dream Theater can be criticized for lacking song craft, and just being a bunch of show offs.

If you like Office of Strategic Influence, then you will almost certainly like You Go Now.  Office of Strategic influence was started as a super group side project back when Mike Portnoy played in Dream Theater.  Office of Strategic Influence is heavier than Chroma Key.  Chroma Key is definitely not about being heavy.  While I would say that Chroma Key evokes the same moods in me as Office of Strategic influence, and that is partly because the vocals of O.S.I. are so relaxed.

Review of Fallen by Evanescence ****

Let’s Just Call Her Token.

There aren’t a whole lot of women playing heavy music.  The distortion on this album seems to be an immediate turn off to many women.  So, is it true; you have seen one woman, you have seen them all?  Well I wouldn’t got that far.  Evanescence is a female driven band that is essentially metal.  They aren’t the first, but in my opinion they are the best of the female metal bands, and I have seen a few, such as Crisis, as the opening act for Dying Fetus.  I even owned a Crisis album, which wasn’t all that great.

In technicality, Evanescence is only average, but the meaningful lyrics and passionate song writing on this album help overcome its simplicity.  I feel so much emotion when I hear her sings like, “My God, my tourniquet, return to me salvation,” capturing some of the dark and more painful parts of religion, such as might be found in the book of Lamentations.  The songs sound original, and there a whole lot of good songs on this album.  You can listen to it from start to finish, without skipping tracks.

I won’t let it change my review of this album, but I got to see them live once when they played a fest and I have to admit that I was a little disappointed, but I was disappointed with the whole show almost in its entirety.  I guess that I had hoped for Evanescence to drop the techno sounds that they often use, and just have musicians playing the parts.  I don’t like paying money to go to shows to hear prerecorded.  The only redeeming act at the fest were the closers, Dropkick Murphy’s.  The popularity of Dropkick Murphy’s is a mystery to me.  My wife had one of their albums, and I thought it was terrible.  I guess what made Dropkick Murphy’s so cool was that so many people were into them at the show.  It was the Boston area after all, and Dropkick Murphy’s is band the frequently advertises that they are from Boston.

Review of History by America *****

The Title Is No Lie!  This Album Is a Classic Piece American History.

Usually, I don’t go for love songs, but America is an exception.  Every track on this Greatest Hits album is recommended.  You don’t have to like folk rock to like this.  I, myself, don’t listen to a lot of folk, but this album by America is awesome!  I do like acoustic guitar, but it can’t be the same 10 chord, or so, always voiced the same way for me to enjoy it.  That is, if some play a C chord, or an A minor chord, or a G chord, I am totally sick of the standard ways these chords are played on acoustic guitar.  In fact, I can use them to tune my guitar simply from hearing them so many times.  I don’t need a guitar tuner.  Luckily, America doesn’t fall into this trap in its folk music.  What’s more its G rated.  As a dad, and as a married husband, I started to prefer music that was G rated or PG rated, while before then, explicit lyrics didn’t bother me in the slightest.  Yet, America has appealed to me in all the stages of my life.  Even with all my teen angst, I loved them.  These songs also make good Karaoke songs.  If they were in my range, I’d sing them, but they are just too plain high for my own voice.  So, I will be cheesy.  America has been a band important enough to be considered American history.  So, I encourage you to go out and buy a piece of American history, by buying History by America.

While he was alive Chalmers would be Mitt Romney’s nemesis.

 Another America booking showing that the best thinkers believe America is doomed.  Chalmers Johnson has passed away now.  R.I.P.  This book is still relevant.  He argued that we should cut defense spending.  However, maybe he is wrong.  Defense spending might be the best way to unite America.  Vote Mitt Romney for President if you think defense spending is a good way to unite the USA!  I know I am.  And, it is not that we need better defense.  We, as a society, need something to unite us, such that we can pick ourselves up by our bootstraps.