5 Deep Cuts of the Week (3/26/16)

1. PINK FLOYD - THE GOLD IT'S IN THE...

Obscured by Clouds (1972)
This is one of my all-time favorite Pink Floyd song from the bands soundtrack for the French film La Valee (Obscured by Clouds) in 1972. Has a great, boisterous sound to it, and features some classic yet comfortable classic rock riffs. 

2. SUPERTRAMP - WAITING SO LONG

...Famous Last Words (1982)

This six-and-a-half minute long piece by Supertramp features some of what the band is best at- ambiance, pop inflections, interesting compositions, and again a fantastic atmosphere.

3. PHISH - PRINCE CASPIAN

Billy Breathes (1996)
A very subtle closer to my favorite Phish album, the song has some great vocals by various members of the band, a consistent and enthusiastic melody, and just about everything else good about a Phish song.

4. KRAFTWERK - KOMETENMELODIE 2

Kraftwerk - Autobahn (1974)
One of the more palletable songs on the Autobahn album, Kometenmelodie 2 fixes all of the weakness of Kometenmelodie 1 into a cheap-thrilling, yet very enjoyable bouncy electronic tune.

5. OYSTERHEAD - PSEUDO SUICIDE

Oysterhead - The Grand Pecking Order (2001)
A song from an album that features members of Phish, Primus, and The Police rocking at their very hardest, Pseudo Suicide crams grungy edge and abstract song writing into a blissful cacophony of chaotic jamming.

Music Review #21:

The Dave Brubeck Quartet
Time Out
1959
Columbia Records







The devil's jazz.

Why such a name? Well originally when Dave Brubeck was going to release this little album Columbia was against it. The album was quite experimental for the time, featuring some wacky time signatures that weren't exactly common such as 5/4 or 6/4. It was released nonetheless to some criticism of Brubeck's work and accusations that he had tampered with the jazz scene. Looking back though it is one of the best jazz albums ever recorded.
Though it features a small tracklist, Time Out takes advantage of it's mere seven tracks to dole out some of NYC's coolest jazz of the fifties. The album was recorded in the time considered to be the "classic quartet lineup" which lasted from 1958-1968 and features Joe Morello's aforementioned abstract time signatures. Brubeck himself does a good job at the piano as usual, but Desmond and Wright are the main reason that the music is as relaxed as it is. Perhaps the wildest the album gets is on 'Take Five', where the music really starts breaking the mold with one of my favorite songs played in minor ever. Unsurprisingly, the song became somewhat of a landmark on late fifties jazz. 
In conclusion, Time Out is a legendary album that anyone calling themselves music aficionados should buy and cherish forever.

2016 - The Frying Pan & Thatcher 

Have a nice day.

Music Review #20:

Hatchet
Fear Beyond Lunacy
2015
The End Records

Many times I've thought it would be a good idea to have a separate genre for metal albums with invasive political themes. The big four have been making songs about the topic since their inception and have been inspiring metal bands to do the same for decades. But eventually there will be a band that reaches the same quality as the pioneers. With 2006's Hatchet, it seems it is time the student becomes the master, and creates perhaps the greatest metal album of 2015. Musically, Hatchet's influence is obviously from 2000's Anvil, with heavy focus on drums and a consistent riff pattern hellbent on belting out music as fast as possible is clear on many tracks. Yet there are many times where the music slows down with either more traditional metal or inclusion of symphonic elements. The opening to the album, 'Where Time Cannot Exist' is a prominent example of echoing melodies that clash with one each-other (perfectly complemented by the fantastic production quality). To be frank, most of the best parts of the album are these such parts and they really bring color to the thrash genre. Vocalist Julz Ramos is a very talented man who would've fit in perfectly with the likes of Steve Kudlow, Dave Mustaine, and Bruce Dickinson. Same goes mostly for the overall playing skill and song composition as a whole. Like the cherry on the proverbial sundae, the wonderful 80's style cover and creative name tops off this entire masterpiece of modern metal. Rock is dead? Get the hell out of here.

I beg you, reader, to listen to this album and give it more attention. It is wonderful, underrated, and deserves more praise.

© 2016- The Frying Pan & Thatcher 

Originally written for Metal Music Archives on 3/18/2016.

Visit the site at www.metalmusicarchives.com

Music Review #19:

Oysterhead
The Grand Pecking Order
2001
Elektra/Asylum









A line that I like very much from Oysterhead is from the title track of their album: "When all else has been done and said / along comes Mr. Oysterhead." I feel like this line really speaks to what Oysterhead really achieves here. It is quite different because of the very wide variety of musicians that perform.

The album in question is none other than The Grand Pecking Order, the only album by the super-group Oysterhead, from 2001. It's an interesting experience to hear hear Les Claypool sing with lyrics that belong in a Phish song (a band who is fantastic at creating inane lyrics), and that alone would be enough strangeness if it weren't for the fact that Les inputted alot as well. In all parts the album is surreal, funky, humorous, and everything in between. There's a healthy amount of tracks so a thorough experience is guaranteed. I'll quit my short-lived and tired ramblings now so you can go check these guys out. To think of it, that's a perfect analogy for the music, except these are much more structured then a blabbering sleep deprivated moron such as myself.

© 2015 - The Frying Pan & Thatcher 

Originally written for Metal Music Archives on 10/3/2015.

Visit the site at www.metalmusicarchives.com

Steam Review - Warframe

Written on 12/29/2015

A game that is quickly becoming my most played game in general, Warframe is an enthralling experience. It constantly keeps you beguiled with exhilarating, fast paced combat that never misses a beat. The tight and extremely responsive controls give you absolute control of your space ninja. Enjoy customization perfection with dozens of color palettes, different armour and weapon variation, and different power-up modifications allow you to spice up game-play with your personal input. On the surface Warframe seems like a pay-to-win game but I assure you, it is extremely easy to carve your own path through the game without spending a single cent. Highly recommended.

Music Review #18:

Porcupine Tree
Lightbulb Sun
2000
Snapper Music 

It's quite easy for anyone to say that Porcupine Tree's progressive rock album from 2000 is not as good as say masterpieces like In Absentia or Fear of a Blank Planet. Although I think that they are drastically different in terms of sound, that does not mean that they're better or worse than each-other. In fact, I think all three of said albums are fantastic for what they are, though perhaps I find myself liking this release more.

I've said it a million times and I'll say it again. Progressive metal is not my thing. I enjoy only a handful of bands with said sound, such as Voivod, but sadly Porcupine Tree (although being my friends' favorite band of all time) is not a band that I like very much. Don't get me wrong, their sound is excellent for what it is. But I never got into albums like Fear of a Blank Planet, although I did find myself enjoying Deadwing (probably because it was more alternative-oriented). However, Lightbulb Sun is perhaps my favorite release by the band.

Perhaps this album is stuck in limbo of progressive rock and alternative rock, but I find myself thinking more along the lines or progressive. This did after all precede the release of Stupid Dream, an experimental concept album released a year earlier, so they wouldn't be going back to metal for a time.

The album starts off with the interesting title track, 'Lightbulb Sun', which combines elements of acoustic and metal, perhaps more of the former overall. The song is probably my top highlight of the album. 'How's Your Life Today?' bridges 'Lightbulb Sun' and 'Four Chords that Made a Million' with a short but sweet piano piece. It's quite nice upon listening, not to mention relaxing. 'Four Chords' actually brings a Signify-type sound back into the picture, with lyrics speaking of the problems that recording companies put on bands like them. 'Last Chance to Evacuate...' is probably the most mediocre, sort of like an experiment in mocking Pink Floyd's sound. It does not fit in well by any means. Same sort of goes for 'Where We Would Be', although I must concede that the Pink Floyd influenced sound is not on that song. 'Russia on Ice' and 'Hatesong' is where the metal first comes back into entirety. 'Russia on Ice' is more dominated by slow acoustics, with the ending quarter of the epic being devoted to more metal (Same goes for 'Hatesong'). 'Feel So Low' is an extremely slow and relaxing closer, with no remnants of metal and keeps the sound of a soft love song throughout. Although the lyrics may seem a little cliche (a typical love song), it is extremely beautiful and just great to listen to.

I would totally recommend this to anyone seeking great progressive rock work by this band. Prog fans seem to love it, and I sure do as well.

© 2015 - The Frying Pan & Thatcher 

Originally written for Metal Music Archives on 12/13/2014.

Visit the site at www.metalmusicarchives.com

Music Review #17:

Live
V
2001
Radioactive Records







Live is a band I've always found to be extremely unique for the hard rock genre, much in part due to their constant blending of Eastern and other influences and intriguing experimentation. This enjoyable era of the band lasted for a very long time, but seemed to very quickly and instantaneously dissipate as soon as they broke through to the 2000's. There was a shaky period for Live in the early 00's where they tried to juggle commercial rock, ballads, cultural styles, and grunge-y hard rock. Unfortunately the turnout was rather heavy handed and fell rather flat. Lyrically, the album is weaker compared to The Distance to Here (only two years earlier) and Throwing Copper. Whilst the latter had poetic, progressive-like lyrics they have now been stripped down to awful, shameless innuendo (Does he run you deep enough / to take you there (Baby) ~ Deep Enough) The music is uneven throughout, with clumsily placed and performed ballads at random periods (these ballads are some of the WORST I have ever heard- quite a feat). The sheer uncaring of these ballads I think is mainly because of how unfitting Kowalczyk's vocal style is to soft, Chicago-style waltzes. 

Let's try and gravitate to something more in their line of work; the hard rock they present is actually very enjoyable when they actually show it off. 'Simple Creed' start with some power notes but it quickly has to tone down in order for the terrible lyrics to ensue. When the vocals and the band are able to work together there is ,such more of old Live to be heard. My favorite example is with 'Flow', where a driving riff leads both sections very well. But there still is the fact that the interesting composition-work is very much lost on V. Although aspirations are still there, both musicianship and music writing for this album don't allow it to come in full splendor like on their earlier material.

While the rather avant-garde intro to the album makes misleading promises of complexity, V is ultimately a boring experience that is superficial in many needed areas. Perhaps later releases will yield different results.

© 2015 - The Frying Pan & Thatcher 

Originally written for Metal Music Archives on 12/26/2015.

Visit the site at www.metalmusicarchives.com