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Twin Town High (vol. 8) |
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’round the dial: Any Way You Want It
Thursday 27 October @ 17:50:32 |
 by Tom Hallett
Lots more cloggin’ up the old in-box this time out, kiddies, so we’ll once again forgo any needless chitter chatter and delve right into the ever-growing stack of recent CD and DVD releases growing like so much mold on a chunk of bread here on the Dial desk ...
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “If you’re looking for youth, you’re looking for longevity, just take a dose of rock n’ roll. It keeps you going, just like the caffeine in your coffee. I love it. I can’t even picture being without rock n’ roll.” — Hank Ballard
SONG OF THE WEEK: “Don’t Lose Me” — Ric Ocasek
 PlasmaticBrainSpasm
Self-Titled
Self-Released
2005
I think I may have actually experienced a plasmatic brain spasm or two over
the years—tell me, izzat when all the pretty lights and colors explode
inside your skull right after a particularly choking rip offa the old Graffix?
One might assume, from the completely silly moniker this band has chosen, as
well as their bright, shiny little press kit, that they’ve had more than
just one or two themselves.
Thankfully, local funk fanatics Ryan Branstner (guitars) and Shawn “Lawnmower”
Bachinski (bass) chose as their dank-y soundtracks battered old eight-tracks
of Parliament-Funkadelic, Rick James, The Ohio Players and Bootsy’s Rubber
Band instead of endless hours of perfectly filed Dick’s Picks. Augmented
by spot-on, femme fatale vocalists Red Shepard and Pepper Engstrom, along with
beat-perfect skinman Aaron Bellamy (Sound Imperium), Branstner and “Lawnmower”
just may be the futuristic, vanilla-hued Brothers Johnson the Cities have been
waiting impatiently for since the heyday of Morris Day.
Putting to good use an extensive knowledge of da funk—as well as an uncanny
knack for riding a groove until it’s as foamy and sweaty as a rushin’
racehorse—PBS manages to flesh out and bring to life their own personal
“Dr. Funkenstein”-meets-Zappa-style experimentations authentically
and respectfully. Without employing the usual hackneyed writing and recording
standards, they lay down a nasty, honest, reaffirming tribute to some of the
music world’s baddest sounds via their own original, modern (there’s
even a hint of streetwise hip-hop here and there) musical sensibilities.
This album isn’t going to change the world (though it would be fucking
awesome if some of today’s more popular producers were stuck in an elevator
for six hours with nothing but a steady diet of this type of blistering, fever-inducing
funk stank), nor will it cause listeners to take up causes, paint picket signs
or riot in the streets. But then, clean, smooth funk beats and keen, slicing
axe-work atop bone-chilling lead vocals were never meant to do much more than
what this album does—provide a solid, sometimes head-turning background
for your next party, extended work night, nookie session or private, candlelit
groove in the tub. Wherever you listen to it, make sure you crank the bass up
high and give yourself a healthy plasmatic brain spasm of your own. Super-stanky!
Journey
Generations
2005
Sanctuary Records
 It
would be easy—especially in an alternative weekly paper like the one you’re
reading now—to give classic rockers Journey short shrift and pan their
latest album without even giving it a proper listen. After all, they were a
part of the corporate radio, stadium rock ethos (whether they wanted to be or
not, and considering their multi-platinum-selling status, let’s assume
they did) that punk, new wave and, eventually, alternative rock rose up to challenge
and slay. But there’s a lot more to the Journey story than just a string
of radio-friendly, Top 40 singles might suggest, and to pay them less than a
modicum of respect as musicians, songwriters and tireless road-dogs would be
almost as big a crime as it was for FM programmers to shun Elvis Costello in
favor of The Eagles, The Romantics over The Replacements, Pat Benatar over Kate
Bush.
In that spirit, then, let’s take a look at the band’s umpteenth
release (they’ve been together, in one lineup or another, for 30 years
now) and rehash a bit of Journey history along the way, shall we? Formed in
the early ’70s by guitarist and former Santana member Neal Schon and bassist
Ross Valory, the San Francisco-based outfit originally dabbled in spaced-out,
jazz-inflected fusion. By the middle of that decade, however, the line-up had
changed drastically, the most powerful addition being vocalist Steve Perry.
Over the next few years, they toured relentlessly and began releasing one smash
hit after another—“Lights,” “Wheel In The Sky,”
“Walks Like A Lady” and “Lovin’ Touchin’ Squeezin”
all shot up the charts like rockets. And who could forget the raucous intro
to “Any Way You Want It” blasting from Rodney Dangerfield’s
juiced-up, wet bar-sportin’ golf cart in that famous scene from “Caddyshack”?
The band went on to help forge the sound of the ’80s with the classic
Escape album, which, although seriously burned out by overplay on FM radio,
still stands as a powerful slab of keyboard-and-guitar-driven rock and a monument
to a moment in time for millions of fans. Soon enough, though, there were more
lineup changes. After lead singer Perry split, it looked like the end of the
road for Journey—finding a vocalist to fill those mighty tenor shoes,
let alone one who could make fans look past the change, would be a hard row
to hoe.
With the addition of front man Steve Augeri and drummer Deen Castronovo (along
with longtime core members Schon, Valory and keyboardist Jonathon Cain), the
band makes their mark in 2005 on Generations, a hearty return to form
and a release that finds them comfortable enough with those changes to allow
each player to sing lead on at least one cut. Sure—some of this stuff
will sound cheesy and overly sentimental to many of today’s (or yesterday’s,
for that matter) punk-and-rap hardened music listeners, but there’s simply
no denying this outfit’s road-hewn chops, keen studio sensibilities, and
knack for penning a to-die-for pop hook.
Nowhere on the album is the band’s sense of humor—and humility—more
apparent than on the hammering, Schon-sung (or should I say growled) rocker
“Gone Crazy” where, over lusty harp blasts, thrashing guitar and
drive-like-hell rhythms, the lead guitarist does a fine job of paying tribute
to the throaty howls of ZZ Top belter Billy Gibbons. I’m not kidding—you
wouldn’t know this cut was by Journey unless you actually had the CD cradled
in your palm. Other stand-out tracks here include the patented Journey-strut
of “Faith In The Heartland” (which, with Augeri’s note-perfect
yowls, makes one wonder if Steve Perry didn’t start a secret lead vocalist
school just for guys named Steve somewhere in the hills and maybe Augeri was
his star pupil [I went to that school, but dropped out before I got to Yowling
101 –Steve McPherson, ed.]), the small-town-needs-rock anthem “Every
Generation” and the absolutely thrashing war-era track “Out Of Harm’s
Way,” which takes the rare and brave stand, lyrically, of “defending
the troops but not supporting the war.”
Generations probably won’t change your die-hard Journey-hater’s
mind—on the contrary, they do here what they’ve always done so well,
stick to their guns and lay down the sounds they’re best at creating.
For younger music fans without the shadow of those long-ago punk-new-wave rebellions
to reckon with, though, Journey sticks out as a fine example of a blue collar,
meat-and-potatoes American rock ‘n’ roll group with a healthy dose
of self-awareness and the balls to stay true to their roots no matter what fad
fleetingly flicks by the windows of their ever-rolling tour bus. Good stuff
from a stalwart band that’ll stand as a larger and more important part
of the great American pop catalog than any 10 of today’s trendy, fly-by-night
phonies.
Th-th-that’s all, folks! Gotta run—they’re having a sale on
Brittania flared jeans and opium incense at the nearest “Smoking Accessories”
shop, an’ ya know I can’t miss this one! Tune in again next week
when I just may be reporting live from a “Theatre At Sea” cruise
featuring Ed Asner, Cliff Robertson and Leslie Uggams! Until the ‘Dial
spins back this way—make yer own damn news.
If you have local music news/gigs/events/CDs you’d like to see mentioned
in this column, or you’d just like to find out how much that tear-drop
window on my van cost me, send replies to: Tmygunn777@peoplepc.com. ||
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