My What a Big Beach You Have!

For fans of EDM and rave music, Fatboy Slim are the top of the collective heap. Although the band has sold a slew of albums worldwide and racked up numerous hits, it’s their insane live shows that have put them on the map as the best that electronic music has to offer. The fifth installment of live albums is upon us and features a rave from June 1^st and 2^nd 2012. Not just any massive rave though, this one tops them all by being the first to take place in a football stadium, boats a 600 square meter LED wall, and a massive stage show that had the audience of 40,000 eating out of the hand of Fatboy Slim at every turn.

The first thing to mention here is that this is a CD/DVD combo and without the DVD it won’t be nearly as enjoyable. The wildly impressive part of this is watching the insane crowd and how they interact with the band, almost as separate pockets of people joining together at random times (usually when the band calls for hands up in the air or when a big hit comes in to play). While I haven’t seen the DVD in its entirety, my digital promo came with some clips and it’s flat out unbelievable that one man, his computer, some pyro, and an LED screen can lead a congregation this size for such a long rave. It’s exhausting just watching the clips! There is no doubt though that the people are there for the party, Fatboy Slim was not let down by his fans.

The music here loses a bit without the visual, unless you are a diehard fan of this style of music. In my opinion, EDM is a participatory sport so it’s complicated to just listen to it. That said, the opening bit with the intro, “Where’s Your Head At?,” and “Praise You” kicks off the double disc in an awesome way, reminding everyone why Fatboy Slim is a premier force and giving the casual listener what they want right from the get go. The highlights for me include “Praise You,” the beautiful, uplifting sound of “Strings of Life (Supernova Remix),” the unstoppable bounce of “Clubs,” and the aforementioned opening set.

Just thinking about what a feat it is to pull off something like this impresses me. On top of that, it’s a great collection of songs and a stunning live show. I dare say that this is an album that could win over even someone who didn’t have a particular taste for this style of music. Is the music overshadowed a bit by the performance? Absolutely. Is it infectious to watch so many people have a great time anyway? Definitely. Fans of the other Big Beach Bootique albums will likely find this one to be the top of the mountain and those with just a casual knowledge of Fatboy Slim are just as likely to enjoy it. 

Oh So Mellon Collie!

Originally released in 1995, this massive double-album set literally launched the Smashing Pumpkins into the great halls of rock and roll. This reissues comes in multiple formats, including 4 LP vinyl collection, a box set featuring five CDs and a DVD (including alternate takes, lost songs, and a full live show from the era), and a standard reissue double disc that revisits this staple of nineties rock music (which is what is reviewed here). This is the most recent offering in a revisiting of the band’s legendary catalog.

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness isn’t quite The Wall or the White album, but it’s very possibly the closest we will ever come to an album like that again. With very little “filler,” this expansive album holds as strong today as it did when it took the world by storm in 1995. I’m actually surprised and impressed by this because, due to its overexposure, this isn’t the Pumpkins album I come back to when I need a fix.

This remastered version has a bit brighter sound overall. The most noticeable change for me is that the guitars just seem sharper all around. Whether acoustic or electric, each note sort of hangs there with a clarity that you don’t get with the original. It almost feels less grungy in a way. The songs that benefit the most are the epics like “Thirty-Three,” “Tonight, Tonight,” and “Beautiful,” not to mention the crystal clear sound of the fan favorite “We Only Come Out at Night.” The rockers get a little pick me up as well, but not quite as much as the crescendo songs. “Zero” and “Ode to No One” are like buzzsaws of angst. Heck, even “1979” and “Stumbleine” have settled in nicely overtime, despite being the album’s weakest tracks by far.

The best part here for me are the liner notes. Written by mainman Billy Corgan, they tell the story of a completely dysfunctional band that become functional for one shining moment and produced an album that has very few peers. The notes for each song bring a whole new twist into the tale of the Pumpkins of long ago and subtly explains why all good things must end someday. These liner notes are easily worth the complete price of admission in my book.

Overall, this was and is the Pumpkins at their very best. It’s crazy to think about this album creeping up on its twentieth anniversary but it’s powerful nature is confirmed by this revisiting. If Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness were released today, it would still rise to the top of the pack and the newfound clarity of sound will surely please the band’s rabid fanbase.

On a final note, spending so much time with this album again has forced me to look at how similar it is in many ways (particularly in spirit and grandeur) to the band’s latest offering Oceania. If you have been away from the band for awhile but love this album then I would highly suggest checking out Oceania as soon as possible. 

Still Raging Against that Damn Machine

XX- 20^th Anniversary Edition

Legacy Recordings

XX is a multi-format celebration of Rage Against the Machine’s debut album. Rushing the scene with incendiary lyrics and Hip Hop influenced rhythms, the band quickly found mega-fame as audiences everywhere embraced the volatile sounds of “Bombtrack”  and “Killing in the Name.” Grunge was just taking over the airwaves and RATM’s debut spilled over with anger and resentment, making it the perfect fit alongside artists like Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and Alice Chains, despite the fact that the band had little in common with them aside from said anger.

Disc one here contains the debut album in its entirety, fully remixed and remastered. Normally, I don’t go for this sort of thing as the production (or sometimes lack thereof) is often key to the album’s timelessness. RATM gets a solid treatment here though, everything sounds a little bigger and a little clearer without losing any of the punch the original had. It’s the trudging “Fistful of Steel” that benefits most here in my opinion. The DJ work and the little guitar effects that are spread throughout the song really come alive in a way that you didn’t hear so much on the original. “Settle For Nothing” comes alive as well, with the wailing guitars sounding crystal clear and the vocals becoming much more distinct on this version. This disc also contains live versions of “Bombtrack,” “Bullet in the Head,” and “Take the Power Back,” all of which were only available on singles.

Disc two contains the entire RATM demo. This is the release they sold for cheap at their early shows and helped cement their record deal. This is my first exposure to the demo and I have to say that it’s easy to hear why they would have gotten signed so quickly. The demo has lot of fire in the belly and a rawness that doesn’t always come across on the first proper album. The funky “The Narrows” is a highlight here in my opinion, showing how much the band (particularly Tom Morello) had in common musically with Living Colour (particularly Vernon Reid who had been doing this for a number of years by the time RATM rolled around). “Bombtrack” rolls a little slower here as well and I prefer it to the album version personally.

As I have a digital promo of this, I can’t comment on the rest of the set. Also included are two live show DVDs and  a vinyl version of the album as well as liner notes for Public Enemy’s Chuck D.

For the most part, if you are a diehard fan than you have everything here BUT the official release will have much better clarity and I can’t imagine you’d prefer a half-assed version over what Legacy offers here. If you aren’t a diehard fan than this probably isn’t for you. This is RATM’s weakest album in my opinion but its great teaser for what I hope we get when the anniversary of the band’s real classic, Evil Empire, rolls around soon.

Reviewed by Mark Fisher

Big Dreams, Nightmares, and Growing Up

Ann & Nancy Wilson

Kicking and Dreaming is the official memoir of sister rockers Ann & Nancy Wilson. The book follows their journey from humble beginnings to mega stardom, from crashing and burning to an unlikely new millennium rebirth. Setup as a series of stories as told by both sisters, former band members and managers, and close friends, Kicking and Dreaming reads much more like a collection journal entries than a proper book. It’s that approach that makes this such a strong offering though as you gain insight into the very private world of Heart as well as what was happening in each of their lives that caused them to unite, and sometimes divide, throughout their legendary career.

Heart is one of the few bands that can very neatly be categorized into decades. So, if you are a fan of a particular decade but not another, it’s easy to just pick and choose what interests you here. I will say though that as a fan who grew up on eighties Heart albums, I was particularly fascinated by the portions of the book that deal with the seventies. The band were much more of…well….a band…in the seventies than they ever were in the eighties and as someone pushing forty, it’s much easier to appreciate that reading this now. I love how both sisters spend so much time discussing how Roger Fisher, and his brother Michael (their one time manager), were such an integral part of Heart and it’s shaping in the formative years. As a matter of fact, the sisters do their past proud through the entire book by giving credit where credit is due and not downplaying the contributions of others. This book could easily have focused entirely on them.

Overall, this book is certainly primarily for Heart fans. In a bigger way though, this will appeal to any fan of biographies or memoirs that loves music. The Wilson’s have a fascinating personal story and their take on the music industry is spot on. These ladies may not have seen it all but when they were seeing things they were entirely aware of what was happening. A great example of this are their thoughts on their eighties work (best summed up with the phrase “Leave it to cleavage”!). This is a great read from start to finish and their recent albums leave me with high hopes that this is just Volume 1 of Kicking and Dreaming!

Reviewed by Mark Fisher

Frontiers Records

As Frontiers Records are so awfully good at, they once again present us with a reincarnated version of a B-list eighties rock band. Featuring four out of five original members, the band follow labelmates Tyketto by asserting their rock dominance late in the game. While most of us remember Kix for the MTV hits “Don’t Close Your Eyes” and “Cold Blood,” they provide us with much more here. The rabid hometown crowd digs it as Kix shows how down and dirty they really were a set of rock tunes along the lines of Kiss, early Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, and Great White.

The band rip right into the fiesta with “No Ring Around Rosie” with its dirty guitars and gritty vocal work. It’s hard to not notice by mid-song that the band are in prime form, in fact, I doubt that they have ever sounded as good as they do in 2012. It rips flawlessly into “Atomic Bomb,” a similar sounding tune that does well to keep the high energy flowing. By track four the band slows the pace and offers up their massive MTV hit, “Don’t Close Your Eyes.” In retrospect, this dark and dreary tune has quite a bit in common with Enuff Z’Nuff and the latter day Oasis. It was a great song then and it holds up just as well now. “Cold Blood” fares just as well, gaining a little extra aggressiveness from the live setting that makes it reek of cool. The audience is really into it and they jump in with a classic rock and roll drunken sing along! The AC/DC riffage of “Blow My Fuse” is the highlight here for me, sounding a lot grittier than I remember it and just coming off like a wall of sound. The boogie beat “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” ends the show in a sixteen minute plus fury that makes me want to go see Kix the next time they come to town.

Overall, this album really surprised me. I have always liked Kix but I’ve never been as excited about their music as Live In Baltimore makes me. These guys are rockin’ live and with a reunion album in tow for 2013, it’s quite likely we’ll see a lot more of these guys in the near future!

Reviewed by Mark Fisher

Wilson Phillips Love Their Parents

Sony Masterworks

Is Wilson Phillips making a comeback? I’d say so, considering the recent success of their covers album Dedicated, which features the trio singing their parents (that’d be The Beach Boys and The Mamas & the Papas, for those of you living under a rock for the last two decades or so) biggest hits. Live From Infinity Hall is it’s followup and spotlights both the covers material from Dedicated and the biggest hits from the ladies own back catalog. The DVD also features a music video for “Good Vibrations.”

This DVD is set up really nicely. There are no real frills about it such as multiple discs or four hour long interviews or ten different concerts included in one set. Instead this is one wonderful performance, that is pretty near flawless, sprinkled with a couple of stories to keep everything moving along.

The setlist here is a delicate balance. Most of the material is from Dedicated but when you hear the big Wilson Phillips hits like “Hold On,” “Release Me,” and “You’re In Love,” you can’t help but want more of their own material. The ladies sound amazing even now, their voices blending in those unique harmonies that made them megastars in the nineties. They definitely still have that “it” factor! The covers sound great, interestingly though  they really do have a Wilson Phillips spin on them. Perhaps it’s the lack of male voices dominating the songs or perhaps it’s just that they grew up putting their own spin on these songs, but either way it’s distinctly them.

In my opinion, the highlights include the Wilson Phillips hits above all else. These songs have been out of our consciousness for far too long. “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” sounds spot on, as do “Monday Monday” and “California Dreamin’” which come back to back causing a crescendo about three fourths of the way through the set.

I had forgotten how much I enjoy Wilson Phillips. They just don’t make music like this anymore, it’s beautiful and smooth and positive sounding without being completely boring or produced to death. This is an excellent DVD for any fan, old or new, of pop music and vocal harmonies. And with a list price just under ten bucks how can you afford not own this?!

Reviewed by Mark Fisher

A Titanic Comeback

Sony Classical

As 2012 is the 100^th Anniversary of the tragic sinking of the Titanic, Sony Classical has released an Anniversary Edition of the chart topping soundtrack to the record-breaking movie. The movie itself was also re-released to theaters in a digital 3D format to commemorate the anniversary. The Anniversary Edition also includes a second disc, which contains unreleased film music by I Salonisti (the ships band in the film), while the Collector’s Anniversary Edition contains a third disc entitled Back to the Titanic and a fourth disc that features popular songs from the early 1900’s.  Both include four Titanic luggage stickers as a bonus.

To say this soundtrack is an epic moment in pop culture history would be an understatement at best. The album is full of iconic pieces such as the gentle and hopeful sound of “Southampton,” the romantic sound of “Rose,” and the introspective “A Life So Changed.”  Of course, the coupled “The Sinking” and “Death of the Titanic” will make you nervous all over again as they musically recount the film’s climax. Titanic’s love theme remains its centerpiece though. Celine Dion’s absolutely stunning vocal on “My Heart Will Go On” will soften even the harshest of critics. It’s quite literally the performance of a lifetime and firmly cemented the song, the film, the soundtrack, and the artist herself as a quintessential piece of popular culture of the 1990’s.

The second disc included here is entitled Gentlemen, It Has Been a Privilege Playing With You Tonight. This part of the collection features the band I Salonisti, known best for performing as the Titanic’s house band in the film. The songs here are considered to be pieces that would have been played on popular cruises in the early 1900’s as re-recorded by the band. “Valse Septembre” opens the collection in a dynamic way that surely would have encouraged formal dancing. “Wedding Dance” and “Blue Danube” are still well-known pieces that would have lent themselves to the theme of the evening’s festivities. “Song Of Autumn” appears towards the end of the collection. It is rumored to be the song actually played as the Titanic went down and does not appear in the film.  Disc Two wraps up with a beautiful rendition of “Nearer My God to Thee,” a traditional hymn that has probably never been more perfectly placed in a film.

Overall, this is a collection that is very hard to ignore. You may not like classical music, Celine Dion, big budget movies, or soundtracks, but this one overcomes them all. The music James Horner composed for this film is timeless and tells the story of the film as brilliantly as the film itself.

Reviewed by Mark Fisher