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Independent Musicians: Quality That's Seldom Heard
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Tell It Like It Is/Jen Shankman; Independent Release The SUV Song/Ralph Don't Run/ Love Chantey, Russ Buchanan; Midnight Graffiti Music Who's Not Forgotten: FDR's Tribute To The Who; Various Artists; Face Down Records/Jam Records
There are more electric instruments (although she does play acoustic guitar on some tracks), electronic sounds and cleverly inserted harmony vocals that were hardly present in her earlier CDs. In Tell It Like It Is, Shankman shows us her best effort. Every cut on this album satisfies. Among the best moments are Make You Mine, a rock-infused love song. The introduction is catchy, and the clever keyboards (played by John Deley) set a great tone for the track's lively beat, which contrast with the ambiguous uncertainty of the "I" character in the words: I come home every night to the same conclusion/I'll give it a try for one more day/I've never been very patient until now/This time I know I can't afford to save my face/The way you walk is getting me by/the way you talk is making me high/I'm gonna make you mine. The most touching songs in the album is the soft, sad Caught Off Guard, about a love affair that has obviously gone south but hasn't yet broken apart, unsure of things to come: Now you want to say something/ but I hit the pavement running hard/I run to move your lips to make them half this kiss but but/it's not that easy with you... Tell It Like It Is is a one of the best pop albums I've heard this year. Jen Shankman, a fine artist, awaits discovery by each person of taste.
The CD opens with The SUV Song, a joke on the owners of those gas-guzzling monsters that have become so fashionable on our clogged roads. The lyrics, told from the point of view of an SUV owner, are downright hilarious: It's me and my SUV/got a yatch that runs on land/got a boat that needs no water/Wide turning friend to the sheiks of Araby... As Buchanan himself describes it "his car burns enough gasoline to run four Corollas, pollutes way more than his share of the air, and increases fuel demand, makes the big SUV owner, at best, uncaring", he says. "But, when one factors in his car's ability to block the view of every driver unlucky enough to be near it in traffic and its capacity to demolish in a crash anything smaller than a house boat, well, the word 'sociopath' does come to mind."One of the greatest controversies on the 2000 election was how Ralph Nader's candidacy hurt Al Gore, putting Bush in the White House. With the news of Ralph Nader's new election bid, Buchanan urges the Nader not to do it again with Ralph Don't Run. "For the first time in my life I voted my conscience in 2000, and I'm very sorry I did", said Buchanan over the e-mail interview. "Though I agreed with Ralph -- and still do -- that there wasn't (isn't) much difference between the major parties, I overlooked one important detail: George Walker Bush. If I had stopped basking in the warm glow of personal satisfaction long enough to do a little homework on this guy, I would have gotten a glimpse of what a Bush presidency could mean and would have scurried back into my usual "lesser of two evils" hole. I am absolutely perplexed, and saddened, by Nader's run this time around. As I ask in the song We learned our lesson the hard way, Ralph. Why didn't you learn yours? On A Love Chantey, Buchanan takes on the gay marriage controversy with a very funny ditty sung from the point of view of an uncertain homophobic man. The song has gotten a lot of airplay on independent stations such as Pacifica, and has given a lighter side to the debate. As Buchanan puts it: "The issue of gay / lesbian marriage shouldn't be an issue at all. We are either a nation of equals with constitutionally guaranteed equality under the law -- or we're not. Bush's constitutional amendment is just another transparent sop to his Born-again base. What makes this political ploy so special, however, is its level of cruelty, arrogance and cynicism. Protect marriage? From what, exactly? Two people in love?" Enough said.
Among the best tracks are Pat Dinizio's soulful rendition of Behind Blue Eyes, played live with the accompaniment of an acoustic guitar and the voices of the crowd present at the show. Also very interesting is Nancy Falkow's take on 1921 (a song from Tommy). While the original tends to be on the a bit aggressive (especially on the What about the Boy? sequence), Falkow gives a special sweetness in soulful her version, which is enhanced by the simple guitar-piano-bass-drums arrangement that never goes overpowers her vocal. The album's press release highlights the presence of Guided By Voices with their version of Baba O'Riley, but honestly I didn't like it. The song, performed live, was badly recorded, and the result is a track that has too much guitar noise, microphone feedback and too much screaming. Also below par is The Contraction's My Generation. Apparently, the band tried to distance itself from the original, but by veering too far away, they sound lost in a sea of sounds that simply don't make sense. John Entwistle (who passed in 2002) was one of the best bass players in rock, and the album pays him a dignified tribute through two of his compositions. In The Real Me, The Bastards of Melody reproduce Entwistle's original bassline (something that's very hard to do) in a well-played cover, while J Horndog actually betters Boris The Spider. I was also fond of The Lolas' playful version The Kids Are Alright. By giving it a more naïve 60s treatment, the song actually sounds as fresh as it sounds retro. Also very enjoyable is Cordalene's I'm A Boy, which has a very fresh rock and roll flavor that blends elements of the original(again Entwistle's bassline) with some creativity from the band itself, specially the vocals and guitar treatment. Who's Not Forgotten is a good rock and roll album that isn't hurt by a couple of bad tracks, and it is quite an interesting listening experience for The Who fans and anyone into classic rock or indie bands. |
 
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Jen Shankman can be heard on her indi release Tell It Like It Is 
A short EP, as Russ Buchanan's recently released is, wouldn't ordinarily be featured here, but as clever as the three songs contained on this recording are, it shouldn't go unnoticed.
Classic Rock band The Who are idolized in Who's Not Forgotten© 1997-2008 BEI
The sexual orientation of individuals pictured in and writers for
Gay Today should not be assumed.
