Pirate Radio [Soundtrack]

Given the subject matter of Richard Curtis' film Pirate Radio, the soundtrack had to filled with absolutely classic rock, pop, and soul. The motion picture (entitled The Boat That Rocked in the U.K.) is a comedy that reflects on the real-life bands of illegal radio stations that broadcast from boats just outside British territorial waters in the mid-'60s and were therefore outside the iron grip of the BBC. The soundtrack contains a whopping 32 tracks spread over a pair of CDs that contain everything from obvious picks from the era, such the Kinks’ “All of the Day and All of the Night,” and John Fred & His Playboy Band’s “Judy in Disguise,” to the Who’s “I Can See for Miles,” and the Troggs' “With a Girl Like You.” Other acts from the early classic pop/rock era are Jimi Hendrix, Moody Blues, Procol Harum(of course!), the Isley Brothers, Beach Boys, Supremes, Otis Redding, Cream, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, Dusty Springfield, Easybeats, Jeff Beck, the Hollies, etc. -- thoughthe Beatles and Rolling Stones are absent for some (more than likely, legal) reason. There are some wonderful surprises too, however: the inclusion of Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass’ “This Guy’s in Love (With You),” the Turtles’ “Elenore,” (sic) and the opening track, a version of “Stay with Me Baby,” by Duffy. (Lorraine Ellison’s version is also here, included near the end of disc two.) David Bowie’s lone “Let’s Dance,” is also here to close the collection. Ultimately, it all adds up to one big party -- even if you have every cut here individually.

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Two Cow Garage – Sweet Saint Me

In one word: Powerful

Colorado’s Suburban Home records has established itself at the forefront of the current Americana/Alt-Country explosion, and this latest release from Ohio’s Two Cow Garage set for release in late October is a solid example of how this oft-overblown genre can be done right.

Sonically similar to the band’s 2008 release, Speaking in Cursive – itself a massive improvement on earlier releases by the band – the record starts with all cylinders firing on “Sally, I’ve Been Shot” which ticks all the boxes for a great cowpunk song: nicotine soaked vocals, rolling bass and thumping drums all laid over a just-dirty-enough guitar sound. From here the album moves into the title track, “Sweet Saint Me” and then the piano-laden tale of (slightly too) young love that is “Lydia” – the first cut to be released as a single from the album. Other standout tracks include the touching “Jackson, Don’t Worry”; a sweet track dedicated to a band-member’s young son about the trials and tribulations of growing up with an absent parent and inevitable heartbreak, and “My Great Gatsby” which is a protest against all things wrong with music today (‘since Dylan went electric man, things haven’t been the same / now DJs are making records could you please just be ashamed…’) and ironically sounds well suited to a giant stadium/festival live show spectacular. The touching “Soundtrack to my Summer” is also well worth a listen.

While the album title sounds like that of Green Day’s next rock-opera, this album is more akin to pre-horn section Lucero. In fact, it’s damn near impossible not to draw comparisons between the vocal style of Two Cow Garage’s Micah Schnabel and Lucero’s Ben Nichols, but this needn’t be construed as criticism as both possess some breathtaking pipes.

With a history of hard work and constant US/Europe touring, playing recently with the likes of Ninja Gun and Drag the River, and the entire band making a guest appearance on Jon Snodgrass’ solo album, Two Cow Garage are at the top of the alt-country pyramid, and indeed at the top of their game on this release. The hard work has definitely paid dividends.

© Steve Pass, Music Vice

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MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA BETWEEN NOTHINGNESS AND ETERNITY

The first Mahavishnu Orchestra's original very slim catalog was padded out somewhat by this live album (recorded in New York's Central Park) on which the five jazz/rock virtuosos can be heard stretching out at greater length than in the studio. There are only three selections on the disc, all of which were to have been on the group's then-unissued third album -- two of them, guitarist John McLaughlin's "Trilogy: Sunlit Path/La Merede la Mer" and keyboardist Jan Hammer's "Sister Andrea," are proportioned roughly as they were in their studio renditions, while the third, McLaughlin's "Dream," is stretched to nearly double its 11-minute studio length. Each develops organically through a number of sections, and there are fewer lockstep unison passages than on the earlier recordings. McLaughlin is as flashy and noisy as ever on double-necked electric guitar, and Hammer and violinist Jerry Goodman are a match for him in the speed department, with drummer Billy Cobham displaying a compelling, raw power and dexterity to his work as well, especially on the CD edition, which also gives bassist Rich Laird a showcase for his slightly subtler work. Yet for all of the superb playing, one really doesn't hear much music on this album; electricity and competitive empathy are clearly not enough, particularly on the 21-minute "Dream," which left a lot of fans feeling let down at the end of its side-two-filling run on the LP. In the decades since this album was released, the studio versions of these three pieces, along with other tracks being worked up for their third album, have appeared as The Lost Trident Sessions -- dating from May and June of 1973 -- thus giving fans a means of comparing this repertory to what the band had worked out (or not worked out) in the studio; and Between Nothingness and Eternity has come up a bit in estimation as a result, benefiting as it does from the spontaneity and energy of a live performance, though even that can only carry this work so far -- beyond the personality conflicts that broke up the band, they seem to have been approaching, though not quite reaching, a musical dead end as well.



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