Author: R. David Smola (Page 6 of 7)

A lot of critics embraced La Cucaracha as a return to form for Ween. That same enthusiasm was not shared by this writer. That album sounded as if Dean and Gene were just trying too damn hard to be the lampooning geniuses that their fans expect them to be. It didn’t work. This EP, which features a re-mix of the title track (a different version appears on Cucaracha) is a brilliant return to form and hits the Pet Shop Boys mark that the first version missed. You can just see the disco ball and roller skates as this one pumps delicious synthesizer and drum machine beats through the speakers. The dance floor silliness continues through “I Got to Put The Hammer Down,” a cute little ditty about a drug dealer. They capture a fun reggae vibe on “King Billy,” which is the exact opposite of the irritating “The Fruit Man.” “Billy” features a synthesized keyboard lead that sounds like half bug zapper and half fart machine. “Slow Down Boy” is a merger of the arty pop of 10cc and the sentiment of J.D. Souther. This is the kind of fun and fucked-up innovation we have come to expect from Ween. It’s a great return to form, even if it for less than 20 minutes. (Chocodog)

Ween My Space page

Wake the Sleeper, the first new album from classic rock dinosaurs Uriah Heep, is a solid but unspectacular and ultimately unnecessary record from a band desperately trying to prove they can still rawwwwwk! This new effort by Deep Pur-…um, it sounds a lot like a Deep Purple record due to the excessive use of a Hammond organ and the Ian-Gillan-with-a-touch-of-David Byron vocals of Bernie Shaw, the longest-tenured singer and sixth overall (but only the fifth to appear on record). The first track, “Wake the Sleeper” is a noisy song that features a bunch of sound crammed into a small space blasting into your ear. The organ, the noodling guitar, the kinetic drumming accompanied by some ominous background vocals all seem to be competing for the spotlight, as opposed to individual instruments complementing each other. The other songs are decent; the problem is in the mix. The record suffers from ‘too much in too small of a space’ syndrome with the mid range so crammed your ear has no room to breathe. Producer Mike Paxman did not harness the band into a cohesive unit – instead it sounds like a bunch of competing parts. On the bright side, new drummer Russell Gilbrook carves out his own identity in taking over for longtime drummer Lee Kerslake. They are excellent musicians and a fine unit, it just doesn’t translate through the material and production. The Sleeper should go back to its slumber until a better producer can be located. (Universal)

Uriah Heep My Space page