Best Of Steve Riley And The Mamou Playboys

Written by Fantasma el Rey

When I think of Cajun music I think of a real old-school barber I knew that went by the name Frenchy and was born and made frequent trips back to Louisiana. A very lively fellow was Frenchy and he would always have good Cajun music playing as you walked into to get your hair cut. Most times as you were seated, he would offer you a beer. Back in the day, I was just a kid of 21 and got a hoot out of it. Steve Riley And The Mamou Playboys are a band that I think ol’ Frenchy would have enjoyed and he probably knew all about them, seeing as how they have been on the scene since 1988.

The Mamou Playboys carry on the tradition of Cajun music and add spices of their own to kick it up a bit and get the crowd moving. When they started in ’88, they where a group of young men lead by Steve Riley, who was nineteen, that wanted to play and sound just like the old timers they loved so much. As they gigged around and improved on their sound they began to add more of their other musical influences to forge a sound that is modern yet traditional at the same time. These Playboys have done it well for twenty years now and make it stick to your ears like gumbo to your ribs. The band has gone through a few members in their time, replacing some here and there as needed do to death or departures. This 31-track best-of set is a great way to get to know Steve Riley And The Mamou Playboys and what they do well.

The Cajun sound is solid throughout featuring accordion, fiddle, acoustic guitar, and bass and the triangle for percussion, but the Playboys take it beyond, adding some rock and roll flavor to the mix with the way the electric guitars, bass, and thundering drums are delivered. Classic Cajun jump tunes abound in the likes of “Evangeline Waltz Two-Step,” “Pointe Aux Chenes (Pine Point),” “Laisse-Moi Connaître (Let Me Know),” “Lawrence Walker Medley ” and “Between Eunice and Opelousas,” the later two tunes being instrumental gold. They can even hit you with Southern rock as they do well on “Menteur (Liar).”

On the other side of the coin there are the slow songs that at times have a bluegrass feel to them. “Lovers Waltz” is a slow number that you can two-step your girl around the dance floor to while “Marie Mouri (Marie Has Died)” and “Vini, Jilie (Come, Jilie)” are Cajun tunes that go way back and are actually taken from poems. “Vine, Jilie” has an Eagles type sound to the vocals and arrangement, finding Steve’s voice sounding country. “Marie Mouri” is a mournful track that can be likened to the sound of the Stanley Brothers lonesome hill music.

Group harmony shines bright on “Les Clefs De La Prison (The Keyes To The Prison)” and “La Danse De Mardi Gras (Mardi Gras Song)” and showcase what the boys can do together. While “Je Suis Pas Un Couillon (I’m Not A Fool)” is dripping with a 1950’s R&B vibe much like the bands that came from Louisiana during that time, bands like Cookie and The Cupcakes or Jivin’ Jean and The Jokers. When the boys blend their voices, they sound great, and let me not forget that even though Steve handles most lead vocal chores there are tunes where other band members take the mic.

To close each disc the Playboys switch up a bit and add a Rubboard to the mix for two outstanding Zydeco numbers: “King Zydeco” on the first while “Zarico Est Pas Sale (Zydeco Is Not Salty)” closes out the two-disc set. Both cuts jump and make you move, showing again that Steve Riley And The Mamou Playboys can handle all styles with ease and putting their own little spin to them. If you’re a fan, then you should have this material already. If you’re not, you will be after you go out and grab this fine collection of the Best Of Steve Riley And The Mamou Playboys.

The Morning Benders:Talking Through Tin Cans

Written by Fantasma el Rey

The Morning Benders have arrived with their debut with CD, Talking Through Tin Cans, carrying with them a sound that is definitely thicker and stronger than tin. Through eleven self-penned tracks these lads, lead by Chris Chu (vocals, guitars, organs, piano) sweetly pound their songs into your head. Chu’s nasal pleading at times borders on whinny emo but is saved by his timing and lyrical talent. Ranking right next to The Kooks as modern masters of the truly great pop tune, stripping the sound back to the days of ’60s legends The Beatles, The Kinks and Count Five. And all just two minutes and thirty seconds over half an hour.

Jump starting the disc with “Damnit Anna,” The Morning Benders show just where they are going to take you on the journey that is Talking Through Tin Cans. Guitars jingle as Chu’s vocals take front and center until the big rumble drums plow forward to let you know they’re going to be a force all along the way. Everything pours rhythm from tambourines, drums, and bass to guitars, acoustic and electric. “Damnit Anna” flows right into “I Was Wrong,” slowing half a hair, then moves promptly to “Loose Change,” which keeps the drums heavy, giving off a brawling rockabilly sound as they thump and kick trough the three-minute mark, where most of their songs end up.

Chu has a way of delivering his crafty lyrics that make them stick as he weaves and bends his vocals through each magical ditty, painting pictures of what’s going on in his head. Keeping his songs edgy is his brilliant wordplay and overall song crafting, giving us a further look through his mind’s eye. Fine examples of Chu’s work are heard on “Loose Change” and “Patient Patient.” “Loose Change” finds our lovestruck hero working long and hard to get his baby to hit him with the truth of what’s on her mind. “Be my mirror/ Show me what I can change…Don’t let me down softly…Why can’t you just say what you mean” and the wonderful “Working too many hours only for your loose change.”

Chu’s is in top form on “Patient Patient,” with “Doctor,doctor…I’m just another book on your shelf/ all it takes is a little commitment/ I’m a patient patient” and “I’ve taken everything you gave me but its not enough/ and I’m running out of love.” It’s easy to hear what is really being said and who the doctor really is but done in a creatively and fun manner, helping the subject mater remain fresh.

“Waiting For A War” is the band’s first single and rightfully so as it spotlights them at their best; it’s playful piano rollicks as drums crash and the bass quietly plucks it’s way along while the guitar scratches chords to make you bop. On the other hand “Waiting For A War” can be taken as a dig on the current state of politics or more love gone wrong and love misunderstood. Chu sings of being tired of living his life like nothings happening and everybody talking and not doing a thing, tired of living like he’s dying and pointing out that talk is cheap but lies are cheaper. Politics or love? Chu leaves the interpretation to you and that’s the way it should be.

The entire time the band, Joe Ferrell, (guitars, pianos, organs) Julian Harmon, (drums, percussion) and David Perales, (bass) stay tight, displaying their skill by the timing they possess. They know when to back off and let the lyrics shine just as well as they know when to push forward and highlight a verse. They come together well showing that their time in the California clubs was well spent. Even as Chu slows up on songs like “Heavy Hearts” and “When We’re Apart,” they come in perfectly following his vocals. These kats can do it all from the funk grooves on “Boarded Doors” to the rockabilly/dark country/ rocking blues beat of “Wasted Time” and the heavy thrash and slash on “Chasing A Ghost,” those latter two tunes are the meanest tracks on the album ringing loud with influences from Johnny Cash to the Cure.

The Morning Benders pulled it all together and gave us Talking Through Tin Cans, a CD that plays well from track one to eleven. Simple themes made interesting by creative music and lyrics is what Fantasma digs the most and these guys deliver. After a good listen you’ll realize how the title binds the album and assists in presenting a complete package and one hell of a debut release.

Moby: Last Night

Written by Fumo Verde

I’ve heard some jams from Moby on KCRW over the years and thought I would take a stab at reviewing his latest CD Last Night. I was never into the rave scene or into clubbing all night long (although believe me, I love the drugs), but that thumping bass line vibrating the floor along with masses of hot sweaty people does nothing for me. Though I never attended any of these types of parties I do have to say the music, at an audible level and with a fat bowl burning, always gave me great ideas for surf videos.

I’m not going to lie and tell you that I know each lick or track Moby sampled from, but they all had a late ‘80s/early ‘90s feel. “Every Day is 1989” says it all right there with a Gloria Gaynor-type of howl singing “Every Day I Got To ….” This hook, of which the last part I can’t make out, is mixed over a quick-tempo, high-pitched electric snare drum sound pushing the beat. I can just see it now, glow sticks waving around the blacklight-lit dance hall, someone puking over in the corner from some bad X. I’m glad I listen at home. Did this track bring me any vision for a great surf video? No, and neither did the very next one “Live for Tomorrow,” just another Flashdance flashback with too many of the same lines repeated over and over and over. But the jam after that, I did like.

On “Alice,” the first sound begins with the slow entrance of a singular voice, “My head keeps turning/ Turning like Russian Roulette / Thoughts are like bullets/ I can not do this/ Do this/ Do this.” It caught me, and the next thing I know I was dropping into a sick barrel somewhere tropical. With a hypnotic hook being broken by quick fire rapping, jumping back to the hook, it breaks again with a more climatic tempo that peaks then drops you back into that hook once again, which drifts into an even slower rap to finish off the jam. As the music closes, all I’m dreaming of is the soft shoulder of the wave and making my exit. I also enjoyed “Sweet Apocalypse,” an all-synthesized instrumental. What gives this jam its outer orbital funk is the sound of a single keyboard repeating the signal given to the mothership in the movie Close Encounters, just as “Mothers of the Night” feels like it’s all the break-up music from those John Hughes’ films I grew up watching.

The only other track I liked was the “hidden” track, which sounded like an after-hours jazz club. From what I gathered this album was a night out on the town and if you are the type of person who parties from ten p.m. to eight a.m., then you could see this whole night unfold before you. For someone like me, who if I do stay awake late it’s because of the History Channel or CSPAN, it just sounds like a bunch of re-mixes I already heard. I checked around to see what other critics thought, and they are bashing the shit out of it. I didn’t think it was that bad of an album; as for background music, it’s great to screw to.

The Kooks: Konk

Written by Fantasma el Rey

The Kooks are back with their sophomore release Konk, delivering more of the same rocking brit-pop that helped them sell millions of copies of their debut album throughout the world. The lads deliver twelve new tracks that swing and sway from the opening vocals to the closing guitar strum. The Kooks (Luke Pritchard vocals, Hugh Harris guitar, Max Rafferty bass, Paul Garred drums) continue to write their own songs and perform them with a flair all their own.

Fueled by catchy guitars hooks, a solid, funky rhythm section and Pritchard’s unique vocals, The Kooks never stop driving the pace of their songs straight to your memory. Their songs are short and to the pop point, making them easy to store, even though some of the new tunes tap the four-minute mark! The music gets you moving and the simple lyrics force you to sing while the vocals make you feel the tune as you take it all in. The songcraft skills of these young men are awesome. As I’ve said before, these kats at masters of the pop song while remaining true to their rock roots.

The sound of Konk, recorded at Ray Davies’ Konk studios, keeps to the path taken on The Kooks debut album Inside In / Inside Out. Blending perfectly the Beatles/ Kinks 60’s vibe with the Smiths/ Morrissey 80’s dance-floor feel. “Always Where I Need To Be” hints at Moz’s “First Of the Gang To Die” in its guitar runs while “Gap” and “Love It All” bring images of Smith’s guitar-slinger Johnny Marr to mind. Keeping the groove alive are “Do You Wanna” and “Stormy Weather,” both are drum filled and bass thick, begging you to hit the local dance hall, especially the mean bass intro on “Stormy Weather,” which has nothing to do with the street-corner, vocal group staple song.

“Mr. Maker,” “Tick Of Time,” and the bonus hidden track “All Over Town” bring in a rockin’ country/folk-sounding acoustic guitar and loses absolutely nothing as far as push and drive are concerned. The Kooks never really slow the pace of Konk even though “Tick Of Time” and “All Over Town” are quiet ballads.

Rounding out the CD are “See The Sun,” “Sway,” “Shine On,” “Down To The Market,” and “One Last Time.” From start to finish The Kooks second CD doesn’t let up, holding your interest with each song. There is also a bonus disc, Rak, that is available as a companion to Konk and is only offered in physical format and in limited quantities. It looks to be a cool collection of songs recorded that did not make the album and alternate/ demo versions of a few of the Konk tracks.

Konk is one of those albums that I can play over and over again, never skipping tracks and often pressing the repeat button to hear one of my favorite tunes just one more time before I shut the stereo off. I’m glad I took a chance on these Brits over a year ago on their first outing and look forward to what they have in store for their next album. Could it be, seeing that it will be the third album that The Kooks will follow other great rock bands of the past and put out what we like to call the “departure record?” Who can say? All I know is that it will find its way into my collection no matter what.

Ministry and Co-Conspirators: Cover Up

Written by Puño Estupendo

April Fool's Day is sure to see many mindless pranks pulled, jokes cracked, and people left scratching their heads and asking what's real and what's the joke. To capitalize on this, Ministry has deemed it appropriate to release an album of covers for the masses to scratch their heads over and smile about, and they've called it Cover Up.

After the release of three blistering Anti-Bush themed albums, Al / Alien / Buck Satan Jourgensen has taken some rock staples from the ‘60s and ‘70s and given them a distorted, programmed sound that their original fans couldn't possibly have imagined while in the back of vans everywhere smoking pot. With their tongues seemingly nail-gunned in cheek, his lineup of musicians, which includes Tommy Victor of Prong, tear through such radio mainstays as “Radar Love,” “Space Truckin’” and “Mississippi Queen.”

Although the opening track (an almost ridiculous version of “Under My Thumb” with fuzzy/whispered vocals and inserted dirty lyrics) had me rolling my eyes as to what the rest of this collection of misfires was going to sound like, I quickly lightened the hell up and went with the joke. Even after half-cringing over the first track, “Bang A Gong” brings it back around and actually works well. Josh Bradford's vocals are nice and sleazy and the guitars are straightforward enough to even have the more sensitive of T. Rex fans having to admit it sounds pretty good.

It may be more of an album for people that are already fans of Jourgensen's discography, but the casual listener should be able to have fun with this record too. Even when you know that most of the tracks are going to be predictably blown out, sped up and double-timed, there's absolutely some fun to be had here.

It does seem to me that this would have been a better fit for another of Al's bands, The Revolting Cocks, but does it really matter where Al decides to be slightly nuts? We should all be thankful it wasn't Al trying to be completely nuts!

Goldfrapp: Seventh Tree

Written by Tío Esqueleto

It’s been three years since Goldfrapp, the British duo of vocalist Alison Goldfrapp, and composer Will Gregory, released their third album, Supernature. It sold over a million copies worldwide and catapulted the duo to superstar status in their native England and Europe, as well as here in the states where its undeniable electro-pop seeped into American pop culture via various commercials, network television bumpers, countless music TV promos, as well as on the dance floor. The natural sister piece to 2003’s electro cabaret Black Cherry, Supernature seemed to be everywhere at once and, before too long, teetered on exhaustion for both fans, and unknowing consumers, alike.

With Seventh Tree, the band’s fourth album, gone is the glam electric of those previous two offerings. Instead, they have returned to the lush, cinematic soundscapes of their first endeavor, 2000’s Felt Mountain, the perfect destination after four good years of disco glitz. Where their debut was mondo Morricone, with a nod to Barry’s Bond, here we are treated to a folky, no less lush, but subtly psychedelic, touch of the cinematic with Goldfrapp herself likening its overall feel to the 1973 British cult film, The Wicker Man, directed by Robin Hardy and scored by Paul Giovanni.

Nowhere is this love letter to The Wicker Man more apparent than in the album’s slower songs. The opening track, “Clowns,” is a gorgeous offering that evokes washed-out images of Scottish countryside, lens flares, and the eerie inhabitants of Summerisle. They’ve spared us any reference to “Corn rigs and Barley rigs” (thank God), and have instead stuck with the more Britt Ekland-inspired, Willow’s songs. Traces of Ekland’s memorable turn as the highly erotic Willow can be found scattered throughout the album on tracks such as “Road to Somewhere” and “Some People,” tracks that while lyrically don’t make much of a connection, musically they seem to be directly inspired by the now-infamous bedroom seduction song, while subconsciously conjuring imagery of a voluptuous Ekland dancing naked against the wall.

The psychedelic really comes into play on the more up tempo numbers, “Little Bird” and “Happiness,” the first of which starts slow, but by song’s end, takes a turn towards one of the deeper cuts on The Yellow Submarine. “Happiness” takes Goldfrapp’s signature swing and forgoes the usual hard-edged, chunky synths for softer synths, various horns, and an array of strings and technique that would impress a young Brian Wilson. The same can be said for most of the album’s composition that, for the first time, finds the band enlisting the help of outside musicians, as well as from U2/Nine Inch Nails/Depeche Mode producer extraordinaire, Flood. Much of the arrangement recalls the previous two albums, only this time they are merely played through a variety of different instruments and musicians. This about-face is a means to an end is most apparent in the aforementioned “Happiness,” as well as in the single “A&E.” You can almost hear the good people at Target putting together their spring campaign to one of these two songs. The hooks are certainly still there.

Seventh Tree is a wonderful step sideways for Goldfrapp. They’ve traded pop-glitz and glam for folk-psychedelia and sun. It is still undeniably Goldfrapp, and with a voice like that, how could it not be? Will Gregory, with the aid of Flood, has done some of his finest work to date. For those of you longing for a taste of the “wonderful electric,” there is always the live show. I, for one, cannot wait to see how this album translates to the stage. With a tour currently underway across the pond, my fingers are crossed that it makes its way to the states, animal heads, Maypoles, ribbons, and all.

Albert Collins: Live At Montreux 1992 (CD/DVD)

Written by Fantasma el Rey

Albert Collins hits the stage not once but twice on this new DVD from the Live At Montreux series. Collins dubbed “The Iceman” shows us why he’s known worldwide as such with every strum, pick, and lick that smokes off his guitar and freezes you in your tracks. Collins and his bands, let loose on eleven cuts presented here, seven songs from the 1992 performance at Montreux while the remaining four are from his 1979 appearance.

Born in Texas in 1932, Albert Collins started out by mimicking his cousin Lightin’ Hopkins, but quickly crafted a style all his own, evident by his first single release an instrumental titled “The Freeze,” which began a theme of song titles and killer instrumentals that included what would become his signature jam “Frosty.” “The Master of the Telecaster” would ride this theme until his final days with songs like “Cold Cold Feeling” and “Iceman.” Sadly Collins’ last days were not long after his 1992 appearance at Montreux. Just a year later, he would lose his long fight with cancer and join other guitar greats in the afterlife.

Collins and the Ice Breakers start off fast with his then most recent release “Iceman” and keep moving with “Honey Hush” showcasing his assertive yet playful blues vocals. Everything Collins is known for is on display in these two opening tunes. Featuring a driving beat, funky bass lines, soaring horns, and his guitar playing, he uses a capo, tunes his guitar to a minor key, and plays with his fingers only; that’s right no pick!

The funk-dripping “Put The Shoe On The Other Foot” has one of the oldest original Ice Breakers, bassist Johnny B. Gayden, chilling the room with groovy solo jam. It also finds Collins jumping into the crowd for his traditional walk in the audience, a move begun years before the cordless era when Collins would use a 150-foot cable to meet and greet his fans. Legend has it that he actually ordered a pizza one time and had the delivery boy follow him back on stage.

Collins shifts gears with ease, cruisin’ slow and low with “Lights Are On (But Nobody’s Home) and “Too Many Dirty Dishes,” providing a cooling-off period before the band starts to smoke again. “Lights Are On” shows Collins’ playful side, scatting along as he picks through the song. Not too be left out “Frosty” closes the show as always and has the band blasting full speed ahead, making this tune stick with you, infecting your brain for weeks. The spotlight is turned on the band as each member gets a chance to strut his stuff.

From 1992 we travel back to 1979 and a show that in Fantasma’s opinion is vastly superior to ’92. Hell, I was amazed that the second set was so stunning. Driven by a cast of seasoned blues vets, this version of the Ice Breakers is street mean and the sound is more solid and menacing. The rhythm section sounds like funky thunder from the gods, Casey Jones hits hard and heavy while keeping time like a jazz master. Larry and Aron Burton, second guitar and bass, sound like funk-filled hammers working together to bang out bass lines and chords that sum up jumpin’ blues perfectly.

This charging blues train doesn’t have a whistle, just one horn and that’s more than enough when that horn is sax legend A.C. Reed. His roaring, honking sax blows hot and cool, proving that he’s a true master sax man and why this kat’s solo album “I’m In The Wrong Business” was a long-time favorite of a teenaged Fantasma. Reed also provides back-up vocals that compliment Collins’ aggressive vocals very well.

Collins is in top form and more animated, moving and grooving while he sings and plays. Even his crowd walk during “Listen Here” is highlighted by his guitar showmanship, sitting in the crowd while picking and pounding out his one-handed hammer on and playing behind his head. All this before skipping back on stage to hit the next powerful jam and keeping the crowd in frenzy.

“This ain’t nothin’ but the blues,” Collins declares before the band creeps into “Snatchin’ It Back.” He is constantly laughing and playing with the band as he “loves” his guitar, and they jump and pound they’re way through the rest of the set which includes the slow “Cold Cold Feeling” and the closing show-stopper “Frosty.” Is it really any surprise that this working of “Frosty” is completely bad-assed and will have you bouncing on your feet. Adding more fuel to the ice fire is a guitar cameo by another Texas blues legend Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown.

Albert Collins - Live At Montreux 1992 is a must for blues fans and the hardcore fans will be pleased to see the bonus set from 1979. The two shows together represent a master guitar slinger, who would inspire many young guns, frozen in time at his best. A CD of just the 1992 set has been released.