Reviews

Steve Earle: Townes

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Steve Earle: Townes (New West, 2009)

I don’t usually buy cover records, but a great american songwriter Steve Earle covering the greatest american songwriter Townes Van Zandt sounded too interesting to miss. Maybe I shouldn’t have bought it, because it does seem to be difficult for me to enjoy cover albums. I just keep on thinking why am I listening to this instead of all the great originals that both Townes Van Zandt and Steve Earle have created during their brilliant careers. There’s no doubt that if there ever was a right man for the job, someone who would be justified to make a Townes cover album, it’s Steve Earle. There’s also no doubt that Steve plays the songs with love and care. He just faces an impossible task. Townes was an exceptional talent and nobody can get even close to the originals. Maybe I’m just a prejudiced prick that don’t really get the purpose of cover albums, but it’s just hard to get excited about this album. I love Steve and I love Townes. I just love them separetely.

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Steve Earle Website
Steve Earle at myspace

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Reviews

The Bishops: For Now

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The Bishops: For Now (W2 records, 2009)

The Bishops is a young british group whose self-titled debut was a really great album. Everything looked really promising, but unfortunately the follow-up For Now doesn’t quite live up to the expectations. It just feels a bit indiffirent and it lacks the energy and raw rock’n’roll of the debut. While the debut was an energic blast of 60’s influenced rock’n’roll, this new one takes a giant step towards lame modern indie bands. The biggest problem is definitely the production. Where is all the action, sweat and energy. It just sounds way too clean and almost boring when compared to the debut. The songwriting quality is still pretty good and if this had been recorded at Toe-Rag studios with the same producer as the debut, this could have been almost as good as the debut. Only almost because the debut did have 3 or 4 truly fabulous songs that this one doesn’t have. The rest of the songs on the older album are probably pretty equal when compared to these new songs.  The old ones just sound million times better and are therefore really enjoyable. For Now is not a bad album, but it’s still rather difficult to find a reason why I would spend much time listening to it because there are lots of much more imaginative releases out there. Like their awesome debut album. I’m guessing The Bishops is still a kick-ass live band, but hopefully they again start listening to those 60’s garage bands before entering to the recording studio next time.

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The Bishops Website
The Bishops at myspace

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Reviews

Tinted Windows: S/T

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Tinted Windows: Tinted Windows (S-Curve Records, 2009)

Tinted Windows is the new supergroup where James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins.. but the solo album is obviously the most important thing), Adam Schlesinger (Fountains Of Wayne, Ivy) and Bun E. Carlos (Cheap Trick) teamed up with Taylor Hanson. Some have been far from impressed, but I think they’ve created a great little pop album. Okay, it’s nothing groundbreaking and the lyrics won’t win the annual poetry competition, but it’s catchy and truly enjoyable pop music. Okay, it might be just whole lot of fun packed into simple, energic pop songs about the girls they either have, have lost or are only dreaming about, but exactly when did that become a bad thing. And if you tell me that Taylor Hanson’s Nothing To Me is not a magnificent piece of Big Star influenced pop music, my peaceful heart might lose its patience and show you a bad finger and throw some raspberries towards you. It wasn’t even until I was writing this review tonight when I noticed that Nothing To Me is actually written by Taylor. I wouldn’t have guessed that. I mean here we have a band that contain my two big songwriting heroes  Adam Schlesinger and James Iha and the best song is written by a guy that I couldn’t have cared less about before this project. A good lesson that I should let my ears and heart make the decisions and not be so freakin’ prejudiced beforehand.  Now where is that Taylor fan club.  I really want to join in.

In overall,  I think Tinted Windows is a really good pop record that contains some fabulous pop songs like Nothing To Me, Kind Of A Girl, Messing With My Head and Take Me Back. Surely there are a couple of average tunes that maybe feel like leftovers, but pop albums that don’t contain any mediocre songs are a really rare treat. 

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Tinted Windows Website
Tinted Windows at myspace
 
By the way. Am I the only one or does Taylor’s voice remind you of Super Deluxe’s Braden Blake occasionally. Especially on Doncha Wanna. But what about Take Me Back? He sounds so freakin’ familiar in the chorus, but I can’t get the band and/or vocalist to my head.

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