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Uptown Magazine - Winnipeg's Online Source for Arts, Entertainment & News

November 27, 2008


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2008-11-27

Guns N' Roses

Chinese Democracy

(Geffen)

C+

Disc of the Week

If you like big guitars, Axl Rose's now-trademark yowl and non-threatening lyrics, this is the disc for you. As grandiose as it is generic, the long-in-the-making Chinese Democracy sounds like a tamer version of what GN'R once was. Street of Dreams is an update of November Rain, while Scraped misses the Welcome to the Jungle mark and heads straight into bar-band territory. The other songs follow suit, except for missteps If The World and Madagascar, which sound like Santana rejects from Supernatural. Closer Prostitute is a great end to the record, but it falls flat lyrically. If you're a fan, then this is what you've been waiting (an unprecedented amount of time) for. If not, wait for the new My Bloody Valentine.
— Nick Friesen

Creepshow

Run for Your Life

(Stomp Records)

B+

Website: http://www.thecreepshow.org

When it comes to psychobilly, you're usually either in the hearse or you're not. The genre just doesn't appeal to everyone, but Creepshow's latest might change that. While using the de rigeur slap-bass sound and lyrics straight out of a bad horror movie, Creepshow kicks out short, catchy and edgy songs that are almost as fun as whacking a zombie with a shovel. Sarah Sin's gritty, slightly nasal vocals are a highlight, and when this brief 10-tracker is done you'll want to press play again. Halloween is long gone, but pick this up anyway.
— Mike Warkentin

Gary Moore

Bad For You Baby

(Eagle)

Website: http://www.gary-moore.com

As blues music has shuffled along through its storied career all these long decades, it has split into so many sub categories that, at times, it makes one ache for the simple sound of the diddly bow. Legendary British blues-rocker Gary Moore is one of the principal exponents of the 'incendiary' blues, the white-hot branch of the genre that features plenty of high-speed guitars, damaging drums and pounding bass whacks. Moore and his compadres follow the map here for the most part, generating an adequate amount of muscle on the uptempo tracks, but it's on the slow blues that Moore really shines.
— Jeff Monk

Land Of Talk

Some Are Lakes

(Saddle Creek)

A-

Website: http://www.landoftalk.com

When Montreal noise-rock outfit Land of Talk burst onto the scene in 2006 with its Applause Cheer Boo Hiss EP, singer/guitarist Elizabeth Powell quickly established herself as a gritty, modern riot grrrl who had no problem abusing both her voice and her guitar. On Some Are Lakes, the band's recently released full-length record, Powell takes a less aggressive approach - and yet, the result is even more raw than its turbulent predecessor. After shedding layers of distortion and multi-tracking, Powell allows her voice to shine in all its perfectly imperfect glory. Check out Death by Fire and Give Me Back My Heart Attack.
— Jen Zoratti

Luke Jackson

.And Then Some

(Popsicle Recordings)

B+

Website: http://www.popsiclerecordings.com

While there seems to be scant personal information on singer/songwriter Luke Jackson included with his third album, it appears that he tried for a number of years to record with some like-minded Swedish popsters and the result is the sparkling .And Then Some. Jackson knows his way around a musical hook and there are enough of them built into the 10 tracks here that even the most cynical musical sad sack will smile when hearing them for the first time. Goodbye London would be a perfect fit for a film soundtrack with its sassy bounce and happy vibe. Even the ballads are buoyant.
— Jeff Monk

Stompin' Tom Connors

The Ballad of Stompin' Tom

(Hear Music)

C+

Website: http://www.stompintom.com

t's anyone's guess as to why Tom Connors' The Hockey Song was not chosen as the theme track for Hockey Night In Canada, but thankfully, the old spud just keeps chugging proudly along in his own peculiar way. He's sounding a touch ancient here - his voice is deepening with age - but still carries the torch for the splendor of everyday existence north of the 49th. Connors' lyrical playbook hasn't changed a whole lot. He still sings of accommodating family members, secluded-yet-familiar Canadian cities and villages and, in the end, he's the No. 1 ambassador for plain-speaking Canucks everywhere. Why isn't he Prime Minister?
— Jeff Monk

Steve Howe

Motif Volume 1

(Howesound)

Website: http://www.stevehowe.com

Yes guitarist Steve Howe helped define the '70s progressive rock band's emblematic sound as much as Jon Anderson's angelic vocals and Rick Wakeman's gigantic array of keyboard sounds. Motif will please Yes fans old and new, and should generate some interest from those that crave well-played, thoughtful solo guitar work. Howe imbues the tracks with personality, avoiding the trap of creating drab, classical music-informed meanderings on the fret board which puts him in a league of his own. There are no overdubs on this record, making this the raw sound of Howe at his Yes-less best.
— Jeff Monk

Robert Wyatt

Comicopera

(Domino)

Website: http://www.dominorecordco.us

You could safely label eccentric British composer Robert Wyatt a musical iconoclast. Since his days with weirdo progressive jazz combo The Soft Machine, he's made it clear to anyone who's listening that he won't be made to conform to any of the usual musical conventions you could name. He's no Frank Zappa, but within the realm of what one might call "progressive pop with a new-music bent," he rules the roost. It takes more than a few listens to this album to really view Wyatt's preferred loose flow as anything more than self-indulgence - but it is completely worth the effort.
— Jeff Monk

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