"Compilation Reviews"
Sponsored In Part By
American Pie soundtrack
Universal Records
The soundtrack from the film American Pie will make an excellent
time capsule of late ’90s poppy post-alt rock; it’s got Third Eye Blind
("New Girl"), Tonic ("You Wanted More"), Goldfinger ("Vintage Queen"),
and one of my favorites on the current scene, Blink 182 ("Mutt"). Plus,
with the CD, you get a picture of a penetrated pie.
- Vic Gemmingen
The Canadian American Story (1959-1968)
X-Bat Records
Here is a compilation co-produced by Caprice International Records artist
and mogul Joey Welz that spans over a decade of rock and pop in its formative
years. Clocking in at nearly an hour's worth of music and featuring twenty-three
tracks, this album is a must for baby boomers and beyond. While there are
no major stars represented, per se, many of the artists are very good,
reflecting the gamut from doo wop to ballads and even early psychedelia.
A young Joey Welz even makes an appearance here, with his group the Angels,
on 1964's "Hey Little Moonbeam."
- Eric Harabadian
NOTE: Due to space constraints, the following reviews were not included
in the print edition of Geoff Wilbur's Renegade Newsletter.
These reviews are only available here in the online edition.
Alterno-Daze -- Survival of '80s the Fittest
Rebound Records
This is one of the better '80s compilation CDs on the marketplace today.
Contains classic tunes such as Wall Of Voodoo's "Mexican Radio," The Waitress'
"I Know What Boys Like," The Go-Go's "Our Lips Are Sealed," Modern English's
"I Melt With You," Frankie Goes To Hollywood's "Relax," Squeeze's "Black
Coffee In Bed," Tears For Fears' "Changes," ABC's "Be Near Me," The Buggles'
"Video Killed The Radio Star," Bananarama's "Robert DeNiro's Waiting,"
Joe Jackson's "I'm The Man," and a rare extended 12" version of Soft Cell's
"Tainted Love." Put this one and let the party take off for this release
is hot.
- Al Slavicsky
Long Beach Blvd.
Long Beach Records/Skunk Records/Cornerstone R.A.S.
An awesome combination of some of the great Long Beach bands of today --
Secret Hate, Corn Doggy Dog & the 1/2 Lb., Das Klown, Juice Bros.,
and The Pivot Foots. Tracks which are impressive include Secret Hate's
reggae influenced "Last American Buffalo," Corn Doggy Dog & the 1/2
Lb.'s "Connection," Das Klown's "F**k Yourself," all the Juice Bros. tracks,
and all the Pivot Foots', combining surf and punk elements together. 20
tunes with each band getting four tunes a piece. A great overview of the
Long Beach, CA music scene today.
- Al Slavicsky
Revelation Records 1999 Summer Sampler
Revelation Records
Featuring artists from the Revelation Records line-up, this CD has some
great hardcore, punk, and alternative music on it, ranging for the metallic
sound of Will Haven doing "If She Could Speak" to the psychedelic tune
of Kill Holiday, which is very poppy, to the punk like rantings of Where
Fear and Weapons Meet doing "Other Face," which sounds like old Suicidal
Tendencies, to the noisy mixture of guitars and grunts of The Judas Factor
on "Beauty Mark," which includes a special video on the CD-ROM section
of the release, plus tons of other bands. 14 bands in all, and all unique
in their own ways... so tune up this compilation on your studio and give
it a listen.
- Al Slavicsky
Magna Carta Records -- Multi-Artist Radio Sampler Six Pack
Magna Carta Records
A sampling into the artists on the Magna Carta record label, which includes
tracks by the following musicians/bands: Mullmuzzer, Liquid Tension Experiment,
Derek Sherinian, Tiles, Dali's Dilemma, and Ice Age. Most of the martial
would appeal to people who like progressive guitar-oriented rock in the
veins of Rush, Styx, Jethro Tull, Steve Vai, or Dream Theater. In fact,
half of the bands featured here have a least one member or ex-member of
Dream Theater -- Mullmuzzer (James LaBrie - vocals), Derek Sherinian (keyboards
on his solo release), and Liquid Tension Experiment (John Petrucci -guitars,
Mike Pourtnoy - drums, and Jordan Rudess - keyboards). The rest of the
bands are some of the new breed of progressive rocksters with impressive
selections from Tiles (which brings out the roots of progressive rock while
maintaining the original spirituality of the music), Dali's Dilemma (who
have an unique approach to progressive rock with time changes and more),
and Ice Age (who does some the best-heard progressive rock heard since
the 1970s). Overall a great sample of what Magna Carta is all about.
- Al Slavicsky
Olive's Army
25 Records, P.O. Box 3006, Poole BH12 2HU, England
A mixed bag of various musical styles ranging from punk to alternative
to dub on 23 tracks for almost 74 minutes of some of the new breed of music.
Bands include Spotless, The Holsteins, Blaze, Trophy, Dead After Dark,
Chocker, Curious Oyster, Grasp, The Cats, Red Ash and the Love Commandos,
Garfield's Birthday, Memil, Weekend with Adam, Bluster, Angry Sole, Arse,
Magic Music, Doris, Famous Sons, Deckchair, V.element, and Parkstone Dub
Foundation. Most of these bands sound like British snotty-voice pop like
Blur with a slightly different vibe, but standouts are Arse with "Your
Mother," which sounds like old '77 punk, Parkstone Dub Foundation's "Shaz
'n' Kells" with its warped trance dub in the middle of the tune, and Spotless's
"Extremist Pacifist." Not recommended for everyone, but if you need something
refreshing and different, this might do some good, for at least you can
hear some new bands.
- Al Slavicsky