Rockin' Rican's Reviews 8-00

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Rockin' Rican's Reviews

August 2000
The Swingers: "Zucchini For A Healthier Life" - Man, got a real kick when I played this CD straight through. High energy powerful rock with a twist of punk and a splash of humor. Many influences can be heard throughout from the Iggy Popish "Everything Looks Better Naked" to The Tubes on "Life of a Porn Star" to The Replacements on "I Wish I Were 5" to any major Punk act from the past twenty years on both "The Pimple Song" and "I Want To Be Something." Sometimes simple is better and in this case that holds true. Fish Altieri: "Anthology of An Unknown" - Klaatu Lives! Wait a minute, it's not them. If some of you remember there was this band named Klaatu back in the 70's that was rumored to be a Beatles side project which of course was not. No, I'm not saying Fish Altieri is Klaatu but their opening track "Orchard" did remind me of them. As I continued my listening journey I found myself wanting more than Pop Rock lace tunes. Wait a minute is that The Knack, oops, wrong again. Okay, let's get serious. Fish Altieri's A.O.A Unknown is a fine collection of harmony laced 60's influenced pop tunes. Okay, enough said! Seven East: DEMO CD - 3 Songs, no liner notes, no credits, no photos, zilch. Dig the art work on the sleeve but that's it. This "Demo CD" is well produced and engineered. I guess song one is called "In The City" or something like that, a fine opening track. Who are you Seven East and what is your message to us? Hey, I think song two is called "Ticking Away," and song three I can't even guess the title. In my estimation Seven East fits into the Collective Soul, Wall Flower, Vertical Horizon genre. Dallas Fisher: "Love Waits" - What do Susan Tedeschi, Diane Krall, Bonnie Riatt, Janis Joplin and Dallas Fisher have in common, The Blues, Baby! Supported by an all star cast including Rhett Tyler, Murali Coryell, Little Sammy Davis, and 3B's Jeremy Baum. Dallas gives a great performance and a lesson for us to learn. Just like Slick Pelt had a hold on me with their rockabilly last month, Ms. Fisher has driven me to put on my shades and play some blues on my ax. The Hypertonics: "Noble Savage" - This is a tough one to review for the simple fact that Brian Lord is a friend of mine who I met a few years ago during our open mic days. The Hypertonics are a collection of misfits who deliver a kick ass live performance, but that energy is difficult to duplicate in the studio as is the case with this body of work. Out of the eleven cuts on this CD, only "You Don't Kiss Me Anymore," "I Told You (Not to Hurt Me,)" and "If I Were Jesus Christ" stood out. The lyrics and music composition is good, but Brian my man, please find a lead vocalist. There is only one Joe Strummer!

August 2000

    The Swingers: "Zucchini For A Healthier Life" - Man, got a real kick when I played this CD straight through. High energy powerful rock with a twist of punk and a splash of humor. Many influences can be heard throughout from the Iggy Popish "Everything Looks Better Naked" to The Tubes on "Life of a Porn Star" to The Replacements on "I Wish I Were 5" to any major Punk act from the past twenty years on both "The Pimple Song" and "I Want To Be Something." Sometimes simple is better and in this case that holds true.

    Fish Altieri: "Anthology of An Unknown" - Klaatu Lives! Wait a minute, it's not them. If some of you remember there was this band named Klaatu back in the 70's that was rumored to be a Beatles side project which of course was not. No, I'm not saying Fish Altieri is Klaatu but their opening track "Orchard" did remind me of them. As I continued my listening journey I found myself wanting more than Pop Rock lace tunes. Wait a minute is that The Knack, oops, wrong again. Okay, let's get serious. Fish Altieri's A.O.A Unknown is a fine collection of harmony laced 60's influenced pop tunes. Okay, enough said!

    Seven East: DEMO CD - 3 Songs, no liner notes, no credits, no photos, zilch. Dig the art work on the sleeve but that's it. This "Demo CD" is well produced and engineered. I guess song one is called "In The City" or something like that, a fine opening track. Who are you Seven East and what is your message to us? Hey, I think song two is called "Ticking Away," and song three I can't even guess the title. In my estimation Seven East fits into the Collective Soul, Wall Flower, Vertical Horizon genre.

    Dallas Fisher: "Love Waits" - What do Susan Tedeschi, Diane Krall, Bonnie Riatt, Janis Joplin and Dallas Fisher have in common, The Blues, Baby! Supported by an all star cast including Rhett Tyler, Murali Coryell, Little Sammy Davis, and 3B's Jeremy Baum. Dallas gives a great performance and a lesson for us to learn. Just like Slick Pelt had a hold on me with their rockabilly last month, Ms. Fisher has driven me to put on my shades and play some blues on my ax.

    The Hypertonics: "Noble Savage" - This is a tough one to review for the simple fact that Brian Lord is a friend of mine who I met a few years ago during our open mic days. The Hypertonics are a collection of misfits who deliver a kick ass live performance, but that energy is difficult to duplicate in the studio as is the case with this body of work. Out of the eleven cuts on this CD, only "You Don't Kiss Me Anymore," "I Told You (Not to Hurt Me,)" and "If I Were Jesus Christ" stood out. The lyrics and music composition is good, but Brian my man, please find a lead vocalist. There is only one Joe Strummer!