Monthly Archives: February 2009

PIGSHIT by Gary Pig Gold Gary Pig Gold suggests (in alphabetical order) 25 ALBUMS YOU SHOULD ADD TO YOUR COLLECTION

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Your humble Rock and Roll Reporter rummaged through a lifetime of music just the other day, and came up with a bunch of items he hopes YOU will be listening to soon as well:

1. “25 All-Time Greatest Bubblegum Hits”
The Monkees, The Banana Splits, Josie and her Pussycats, a whole slew of Kasenetz-Katzery and, of course, the hallowed Archies as well: What better possible way to kick off our countdown?

2. Allin, G.G. “The Troubled Troubadour”
At the time – roughly the length and breadth of the Reagan administration – some called this punk rock, some called it performance art, some called it a big pile of fecal matter (quite literally, as it sometimes turned out). And others just called the cops when the poop actually did begin to hit the fans …but in this mega-jaded age of Osbournes and Fox Television, G.G. in a way can seem quite quaint and oddly reassuring given half a chance, or even half an ear.

3. Animals “The Twain Shall Meet”
In the throes of his immediate post-original Animals, SoCal revelry, Eric Burdon produced four lysergic-drenched albums which continue to haunt the man (not to mention his most loyal followers) to this very day …yet for the magnum opus “Sky Pilot” alone, this second in the afore-mentioned series of long-playing parables truly deserves a nice close, San Francisco listen.

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CD Review: Future Clouds and Radar – Peoria (Star Apple Kingdom)

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This is the second album as Future Clouds and Radar from Robert Harrison, former leader of the great power pop band Cotton Mather, and though Harrison has not lost his ability to combine a pithy lyric with a memorable melody his newest release does not quite stack up with the first release his newest band, a tremendously ambitious double album that put the band on the map in a big way. Despite this, the new CD Peoria has plenty of good songs, just not the big winners and idiosyncratic charms of the first disc. That’s not to say Harrison has lost his touch for a great song, to the contrary, he writes incredible smart-pop songs. He has probably just released this album a little too soon, in my opinion. No doubt wanting to capitalize on the great notices and buzz of his new band, Harrison has put out this collection of songs when, if you think about it, Harrison could have taken some of the great songs on his last album and combined them with the stronger songs on this set and Future Clouds and Radar would have had two killer albums back to back.

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CD Review: McTwist “Amateur Hour”

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Formed in Rockville, Maryland in 2007, the new ‘cocktail rock’ band McTwist is off to a solid start with their debut record, “Amateur Hour”. They are not named after some sweet chocolate-vanilla confection available at McDonalds; McTwist refers to a skateboarding move first performed in the 80s by Mike McGill. But there is plenty of literal twisting evident in their music, as it is a hardy blend of many rock subgenres, including pop, alternative, punk/emo, and ska. Often, this kind of musical identity crises drives a listener insane, but kudos to McTwist for emerging from this sonic blender with a surprisingly distinct and identifiable sound of their own.

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Cover Story Interview – Foo Fighters – Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, with design/artwork by Don Clark

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Subject: Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, by the Foo Fighters – a 2007 release on RCA records, with cover artwork and design produced by Don Clark.

2008 was another terrific year for the Foo Fighters. At the beginning of their year+-long world tour organized on the heels of their successful previous release – the half-acoustic/half-electric 2-disc package titled In Your Honor, they released their sixth studio record, titled Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace in September 2007. This album spawned another trio of chart-topping hits – “The Pretender”, “Long Road to Ruin” and “Let It Die”.

All images featured in this Cover Story are Copyright 2007, Don Clark/Invisible Creature – All rights reserved. Except as noted, all other text Copyright 2009 – Mike Goldstein & RockPoP Gallery (www.rockpopgallery.com) – All rights reserved.

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Live Review: Bedouin Soundclash

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Review: Mat Taylor

Photos: Mike Forbes

Much has been made of the Kingston, ON trio in recent years; bringing rock stained reggae to the forefront of mainstream radio is no easy feat. Touring on the heels of their latest LP, Street Gospels, they brought their jams to Guelph Ontario’s second annual Hillside Inside Festival.

Production of the new record, like their major label debut, was handled by Bad Brains’ Darryl Jenifer. The heavily dreadlocked prince of rock-reggae took some chances with this record, including electronics, fades and echoes. But, while ska and dub are ever-present, the styles serve as merely a base for their rock-skank melodies.

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Simon Heads to the Islands and Takes a Listen to Jointpop

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Its not often that you will hear the words ‘rock band’ and ‘Trinidad and Tobago’ mentioned in the same breathe, which is why I was surprised when I found out that ‘Jointpop’ were from T&T. Its refreshing to hear a band from a country such as Trinidad taking influences from musicians like Neil Young, U2, and The Beatles but when they start to play it all becomes clear.

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