Marcy Playground – Marcy Playground

1997 Capitol Records

I know, I know…this was a platinum album in 1998 and the song Sex & Candy was all over the radio for what seemed like forever.

If you own this album or ever owned this album, I have a question for you:  Can you name any other song from this album other than Sex & Candy?

If you can, you’re one of the very few.  A sad fact because what this is, quite frankly, is one of the very best guitar pop albums ever recorded.   John Wozniak’s songwriting covers so much ground on this disc from hard-edged guitar rock to subdued folky stylings, all held together with tasty hooks and infectious vocal melodies.

Leadoff track Poppies is one of my faves, kicking things off with some perfectly distorted guitar bouncing and hiccuping along under Wozniak’s melodic and chill vocals.    The aforementioned Sex & Candy is a great song, and I’ll never forget seeing these guys perform it on the David Letterman Show.   It was an absolute surprise hit, and at the end of the performance Wozniak seemed to have this knowing grin on his face…that this could very well be their 15 minutes and they might as well enjoy it.

Beyond this there is a treasure trove of good times.   Saint Joe On The School Bus was the follow-up hit that never was, Sex & Candy’s popularity making it virtually impossible to follow-up (i.e. Backwater by Meat Puppets).   A Cloak of Elvenkind is another of my favorites with its lush mix and almost lullabye melody.   Then there’s Sherry Fraser, yet another chill number that shows these guys’ hooks are just as strong on slower, folkier numbers as they are on the rockers.

Winding up the disc are one of each, The Shadow of Seattle and The Vampires of New York, and really I could list every song on the disc as a favorite because truth is I’ve listened to this disc beginning to end so many times I can’t begin to count.   One of those rare discs you can just listen through to, and an example of what great guitar pop sounds like.   Call them alternative if you want, but it just doesn’t matter.

Like my friend Peter Gutierrez told me in high school…there’s only two kinds of music in this world – good and bad.

Rating:  5 out of 5

Curve – Doppelganger

1992 Charisma Records

I first fell in love with Curve singer Toni Halliday’s voice on Robert Plant’s playful and very underrated ‘Shaken N Stirred’ CD.  Her rich, playful and sensuous voice was the perfect foil for Plant, and was the sole reason I bought this CD when it came out…having never heard a note Curve played and having no idea whatsoever what to expect.  I personally find her to be one of the all-time most truly sexy female singers ever.    Pure, honest sensuality and confidence…and a certain mysterious edge that I admittedly find intriguing.

1992 was a time when grunge was king and ‘alternative’ became such an all-encompassing term that it never was clearly defined.   There was a lot of great music that got lost in the shuffle during this time, and Curve remains one of my very favorite unsung bands from this era.

It has been said in various forums that Curve was a major influence on Garbage, with Garbage being the more commercial of the two bands and there apparently being very public mutual respect between them.    If you’ve never heard Curve before, imagine Garbage with a more abrasive musical backdrop…electronic/industrial-tinged dance beats with wave-like bass lines and much more abrasive guitar.

Personally, I love the way Halliday’s voice works as a foil (once again) here, her rich melodies and vocal range almost daring you to endure the controlled chaos of sound that is the backbone of their music.   “Fait Accompli” was the first video from this disc and this link will bring you to it on YouTube.   I just love her voice here (and her aforementioned sensuous presence), and it’s a nice introduction to their music if you’re new to it.

The whole disc has great depth, with songs like “Ice That Melts the Tips,” “Split into Fractions,” and “Wish You Dead” barrelling relentlessly forward…equal parts sweet and sour.    Curve is one of very few bands whose music and overall sound is something I can feel beyond mere surface excitement.   It just gives me chills without fail.

I could go on and on, but I’ll wind this up by giving props to the masterpiece of this disc, “Horror Head.” Probably my fave song of the whole Curve catalogue with Halliday’s absolutely gorgeous and haunting voice leading off the song and bringing you to a place you’ve never been before.

Like all the best music tends to do.

Rating:  5 out of 5

Something extra for you: Check out this link for Curve’s incredible version of “I Feel Love” by Donna Summer.   I know, I know…it’s an old disco song.  I don’t care.   Toni Halliday rules and this is really, really cool.

Xysma – Lotto

1996 Relapse

This album has a unique charm about it that I can’t liken to anything else I’ve heard.   It’s discs like this that wind up being my long-time favorites 5, 10, 20 years down the line.

First of all, Xysma started out as a death/grindcore band (debut album title:  Swarming of the Maggots), as they were a part of that underground scene in their native Finland, but very soon began to evolve into a definitively rock/pop outfit with retro 70’s/psychedelic leanings.  Always eccentric in their approach, Xysma threw a major curveball with this CD and for my ears it’s a really fun absolute winner.

“The Shortest Route” kicks off the disc with a nifty riff and relentless drum beat that alternately pounds and grooves.   Production here is really cool, as it manages a garage integrity and warmth that is hard to describe.  You’ve just got to hear it.

In fact, click on this link check out one of my faves from this disc…”New Gel In Town.” I can just smell the hair pomade (now THERE’s a retro word) listening to this song: It’s got a super hold…it’s not so curled. Man, lyrics like that against a guitar-rock background just crack me up…especially when the singer has such a heavy Finnish accent.

The guitar sound on the aforementioned song and really the whole disc is one of my favorite guitar sounds this side of The Cult’s mighty Electric album.   Stripped down, just enough distortion and very melodic.    It just blows my mind that they were once at the forefront of the Finnish grindcore movement.  Their sense of melody and hook is all over this disc, songs like “Do’n'do,” “We Just Came Inside” and “Millionaire” grooving out of your ancient Jensen speaker cones and somehow planting visions of shadow dancers from 1960’s go-go clubs in your head even if you weren’t even born till after that era.

I dunno, this is another Abysmal disc that just exists in its own universe and it’s hard to really compare it sonically to anything else.   Listen to “New Gel In Town” on the link above.  If you dig that piece, you’ll probably dig this whole retro pie.

I dig.

Daddy-O.

Rating:  4.5 out of 5

Trouble – Trouble

 1990 Def American

Gotta thank my bud Peter Gutierrez for reminding me about this lost masterpiece.   Word of warning…if you’re not into heavy music, you’ll probably be turned off.   Myself, growing up listening to Sabbath and Zeppelin in my wee childhood I quickly developed an affinity for the sound of heavy, distorted guitar played with gusto, attitude and a sense of style.   To this day, it’s rare that I gravitate toward any music that isn’t heavily guitar based (though Keane’s “Hopes and Dreams” CD is a glaring exception).

This disc takes the spirit of classic Black Sabbath and modernizes it with another brilliant production job by Rick Rubin (he IS the man!) applied to a batch of songs that can stand on their own, quality-wise.  No over-production here, as Rubin does his thang, letting the band breathe life into each song with a very live sounding mix.   The band performance is tight, while  grooves alternately swing and bulldoze with an impossibly heavy guitar tone.

The album kicks off with the apocalyptic swing of  “At the End of My Daze,” which expertly sets the tone for what’s to follow…an album of both heaviness and depth.   “Psychotic Reaction” received airplay on MTV (just a really cool song) and Trouble was making waves as a band of hooks, chops and credibility.   Alas, it never translated into the album sales they deserved.

For me, the surprising (though it shouldn’t be, given the band’s obvious intelligence) crown jewel of the disc is “The Misery Shows (Act II),” a melancholy and almost dreamy mellow tune which shows Trouble’s depth as both powerful and sincere…definitely no “token ballads” here.

Trouble is a band (reunited in 2002 and still cookin’) that has always taken the traditional “doom” metal sound and injected it with a positivity and hope in the lyrics that earned the band the label “white metal” in their early days.  Indeed, it’s easy to look at song titles like “A Sinner’s Fame,” “The Misery Shows,” “R.I.P.,” and “Black Shapes of Doom” and make an ignorant, negative snap judgement, while a closer listen to those songs, “Heaven on My Mind,” and “All is Forgiven” shows that there is always a silver lining on the dark clouds of Trouble’s music.

If you love heavy music, this one is a no-brainer for your collection and a disc you will make many returns to for years to come.

Rating:  5 out of 5

10 Most Truly Abysmal Guitarists

These are the guitarists who, for my ears, have committed simply amazing work to vinyl and/or acetate-sandwiched aluminum but you just never hear about them.

Some are amazing soloists, some are amazingly creative with riffs and sound, some are a little of each.  They are listed in no particular order, and I hope you enjoy them all as much as I do.  Cheers!

1.  Matthias Jabs (Scorpions) – I’ve always been amazed that this guy didn’t receive much more accolades for his guitar playing.   His counterpart Rudy Schenker (no slouch, mind you) has always been better known, but Jabs has one of the most searing and expressive guitar styles I’ve ever heard and is one of very few guitarists whose solos just make my hair stand on end.   He has fast fingers and can shred with the best of them, but he has always been more about melody and his string bending is some of the most expressive I’ve heard.  Just really exciting stuff.   He’s the only guitarist from a “star” band you’ll see in the Abyss, simply because he never got the recognition.   Simply unstoppable during Scorpions’ heyday CD’s:  Lovedrive, Animal Magnetism, Blackout, and Love At First Sting.

2.  Denis D’Amour (Voivod) – RIP – Up until his death in 2005 from colon cancer, Denis D’Amour (known as “Piggy” in his band’s early days) was the unheralded guitar master for Canadian prog-thrash band Voivod.  He’s another one who was undoubtedly nimble of finger, but his true strength was his pure creativity.  Mixing together elements that just didn’t belong together in the conventional way of thinking, D’Amour took jazz chords, dissonance, melody, intelligence and algebra to create a totally unique and original world of sound that progressed from sheer noise in the early days to progressive thrash in the mid-80’s to (in my humble opinion) the peak of his genius on the incredibly melodic Angel Rat and The Outer Limits CD’s.  Most Voivod fans hated those discs, but I think they showcased a truly brilliant guitarist’s amazing technical and creative scope.  And there’s nothing wrong with being able to hum the damn songs, too.

3.  Yuji ‘You’ Adachi (Dead End) – A guitarist most of you have probably never heard of from an amazing band that you’ve probably never heard of, Adachi’s solo on the song “The Damned Thing” from Dead End’s Ghost of Romance CD ranks among my 10 favorite solos of all time.   Not simply for the deft fingerwork, but for the creativity, melody and emotional expression.  Adachi’s style really defined Dead End’s sound, which was a combination of technical metal and goth with some street glam visuals thrown into the mix for good measure.  The fact that most of their songs are sung in Japanese was an obvious shortcoming in trying to break the US market, but the band’s talent and penchant for memorable hooks makes them a band I constantly return to, and Adachi’s solos never compete with the song itself but rather add a big fat exclamation point.

4.  Tim Sult (Clutch) – How do I love Clutch?   Let me count the ways.   I can think of 4…Neil Fallon, Dan Maines, Jean-Paul Gaster (the Master) and their sound-loving guitarist Tim Sult.   What I love most about Sult’s playing is that it’s all about sound.  He can serve up some tasty solos when it’s appropriate, but his real forte’ is the manipulation of sound effects and melody to create a variety of moods that can really sum up life itself without uttering a word.  Some of the most hummable melody lines and booty-shakin’ riffs on the planet, and a real sense of fun style.

5.  Chris Leblanc (Chris Leblanc Band) – The first time I heard Leblanc play in Baton Rouge back in the early 1990’s, he was undoubtedly a talented player and I liked his music.  In a time when grunge was the rage, Leblanc took his cues from the blues and Austin blues/rock stylings while also having an open mind to the popular sounds of the day.   The thing I respect most about him is that he’s all about the song.  His solos are even better now than before as his style has truly become his own, and he shares a major characteristic with other truly abysmal guitarists here…his solos are never in competition with the song itself and always manage to make the song just that much better.   And damn if he didn’t write one of my all-time favorite songs, “The Other Side” from his Talent Show album, showcasing his love for sweet vocal harmonies to go along with super guitar hooks.   Here’s to you Sweetroll!

6.  Jimi Hudson (4 Mag Nitrous) – I admittedly know very little about this guy, other than when 4 Mag bassist/vocalist Kib gave me a copy of Southern Wisdom and Know-How and I cranked it on my stereo…the opening riff of “Cut Throat” just made me get off my lazy keester and do some air guitar.  Yeah, I admit it.   The rest of the disc proved that he’s no one-trick pony, either.   Too often, guitarists with this kind of speed and technical prowess get too wrapped up in showcasing their skills and forget about things like hooks and memorable songs.  Not Hudson, as riff and solo alike are just pure electricity and twisted melody.   Man, I can’t wait to hear more from this guitarist and the band.

7.  Ty Tabor (King’s X) – Musicians from metal to pop to grunge admire this guy.   Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam credits King’s X for actually inventing grunge.  Some people may argue that point, but what is inarguable is his heavenly talent and inimitable style.  Take a listen to King’s X (especially the incredible trifecta of their first three discs) and you’ll hear for yourself a tone, sound and style that’s like no one else.  His guitar sound is totally unique to him and, along with just ridiculously wonderful vocal harmonies, defined the sound of King’s X.  Oh yeah…his soloing is melodic and tasteful, too, often acting as a bit of a foil to some of his heavier riffs.   Definitely a guitarist with his own unique take on things.

8.  Jeff Martin (Tea Party) – My heart is still broken that Martin flew the coup and left the Tea Party in…ummm…an extended hiatus.  While his penchant for drama can sometimes be a bit much, I have just always loved his style and songwriting.  There’s always a dark (not quite goth, but pleasantly close) mood to his Tea Party material, and he experiments with alternate tunings like no one else I’ve heard.   Creativity is at the forefront here, and while he can rip some blistering solos when the song calls for it, it’s his creativity and ability to create darkly beautiful moods that makes him a no-brainer inclusion amongst my favorite Abysmal guitarists.  Check out “The Bazaar,” “Heaven Coming Down,” “Angels,” “Fire in the Head” and “Sister Awake” for some of my favorites of his.

9.  Hillel Slovak (Red Hot Chili Peppers) – RIP – There’s just not much of this guy’s recorded work around, given his career and life being cut ridiculously short by his heroin addiction and subsequent overdose at the tail end of the Uplift Mofo Party Plan tour.   In my book, Slovak was an innovator and should get much more credit as such than he does.    He was only on two RHCP discs (Freaky Styley and Uplift Mofo Party Plan), but it was on Uplift Mofo that he really made his mark.   Take a listen to it.  This was 1987…there was no one like him.  His guitar sound slices through the mix (and your lame-O speaker cones) and he has the chops to match.    A true rock original in my book, he melded together funk, R&B, rock, metal, punk and blues like no one before him.  Solos and riffs alike are just loaded with passion and attitude.

10.