Illinois Entertainer Record Store Day 2019 Guide | Page 25
Band and Little Feat before erupting into a
rowdy instrumental break recalling old
mates The Beatles. Work-in-progress mixes
represent nine of the album's 12 songs. In
addition to nine tracks of alternate mixes,
Wish You Were Here includes Evans’ buoy-
ant “Queen of Darkness.” The bonus cut is
a worthy addition with its chugging Chuck
Berry rhythm and satisfying lyrical bite.
– Jeff Elbel
8 Badfinger
9 Wish You Were Here
AMERICAN FOOTBALL
American Football (LP3)
(Polyvinyl)
After a 17 year gap making their sec-
ond album, American Football gained
near-legendary status as Midwestern Emo
godfathers. Riding into parenthood on
their 2nd album in three years, LP3 strips
away the mystique an of their youth
exposing flaws without tearing away the
veneer that gained them legendary status
as guardian angels of prairieland emo. By
all accounts American Football are just
regular guys without pretense. That does-
n't wash off the mysteriousness of their
personalities that only a few bands have
been able to maintain, most notably 1981-
1983 era New Order. Chief songwriter
Mike Kinsella is an everyman we all seem
we've met at a youth soccer game, but
with an angelic croon. His lyrics expose a
darker side (“I blamed my father in my
youth/Now as a father, I blame the
booze") on "Uncomfortably Numb," shar-
ing vocals with Paramore's Haley
Williams. Normally Williams dominant
vocal style would steal the show from the
protagonist, but Kinsella insecurity shines
in a bed of floating staccato guitar har-
monics and Steve Lamos' haunting regi-
mented drums. Surprisingly more female
guest vocalists appear on LP3 including
Land of Talk vocalist Elizabeth Powell,
and Slowdive’s Rachel Goswell further
the dueling female POV, especially on “I
Can’t Feel You." AF leaves behind their
emo 2k guitar attack on LP3 and employ a
style more like Spirtualized behind
Kinsella's and Steve Holmes floating gui-
tars, pummeled by Jake Cupp's produc-
tion, especially on "Silouettes." After 20
years American Football couldn't of
planned it this way, but musical uneasi-
ness never sounded so good.
–David Gedge
9 Appearing 3/30 at Metro, Chicago.
BADFINGER
Badfinger
Wish You Were Here
(Real Goner)
Thanks to an infamous case of mis-
management and corporate enmity, these
albums were reduced to third-rate status
in rock's lexicon. These fresh reissues
allow you to appreciate them for the gems
they are. Badfinger (originally to be enti-
tled For Love or Money) was the band's first
release on Warner Brothers. Due largely to
internal troubles at the band's former
label, the album shipped a mere three
months following Apple Records' release
of Ass. Overlapping promotional efforts
floundered, and both albums suffered.
The band's deal at WB demanded a heavy
workload, and development of Wish You
Were Here was begun a mere two months
following Badfinger's debut. When
Badfinger manager Stan Polley abscond-
ed with $100,000 of WB's money, the label
sued the band members and scuttled Wish
You Were Here by pulling it from shelves.
Worst of all, ace songwriter Pete Ham
took his own life roughly six months later
due to despair over the band's problems.
Aside from the staggering cost of a life, it's
a terrible shame that these albums aren't
better known. Both are brimming with
melodies, tight harmonies, meaty rhythm
guitar, and world-class pop hooks.
Badfinger was often slighted by critics
due to their close association with the
Beatles, though Ham had long ago proven
his chops with hits like "No Matter What"
and "Baby Blue." Wish You Were Here
includes a clutch of Ham's best work,
from the charming fatherhood ode
"Dennis" ("they look like weeds, but
they're really flowers, and they'll soon be
gone") to the amorous, George Harrison-
like "Know One Knows." “Just a Chance”
is a full-throttled rocker in the tradition of
“No Matter What.” Joey Molland's
Badfinger single "Love is Easy" further
channels Harrison, revving the energy of
"It's All Too Much," while the heavy psy-
chedelia of "Give it Up" nods to Lennon.
Ham and bassist Tom Evans collaborated
on the shimmering folk of "Shine On."
Bassist Tommy Evans channels The
Band's "The Weight" on "Why Don't We
Talk."
Both albums have been augmented
with bonus tracks. On the Badfinger CD,
Tom Evans’ previously unreleased “Love
is Easy” lopes along with echoes of The
Band and Little Feat before erupting into a
GARY HOEY
Neon Highway Blues
(Provougue)
Boston-bred guitar virtuoso Gary Hoey
is one of the hardest working bluesmen in
the genre. On his 21st album, Neon
Highway Blues, Hoey has crafted a collec-
tion of 11 star-studded blues-rock tunes.
Opener “Under the Rug” is an energetic
start to the record and features the prodi-
gious blues-rock guitar veteran, Eric Gales.
The duo’s blazing, trade-off guitar solos
sound natural and fluid, probably because
they share similar influences. Hoey’s emo-
tive, soulful vocals are equally impressive
throughout the album. Hoey implements
the slower, traditional blues playing style
on tracks “Mercy of Love” featuring gui-
tarist Josh Smith and “Don't Come Crying”
featuring his son Ian Hoey. Hoey also
shows off his rock/metal side with mon-
strous riffing on “I Felt Alive,” blazing
solos on “Damned if I Do,” featuring Texas
axe-slinger Lance Lopez, and the Led
Zeppelin-infused “Living the Highlife.”
Hoey also impresses with his diverse style
on a couple of instrumental compositions,
including the hazy album closer and the
title track. Neon Highway Blues is a well-bal-
anced blues-rock hybrid that represents the
newer modern breed of the blues guitar
hero, while still paying homage to the past
blues gods.
- Kelley Simms
9
NOCTORUM
The Afterlife
(Schoolkids)
As the brainchild of producer/key-
boardist Dare Mason and guitarist/singer
Marty Willson-Piper, Noctorum has
always exceeded its classification as any-
body’s side project. Now that Willson-
Piper has severed longstanding ties with
Australian psych-pop masters The Church,
Noctorum’s fourth album The Afterlife can
secure greater prominence as a worthy pri-
mary project. Willson-Piper is a globetrot-
ter, and these songs are peppered with
global references from Tokyo to London
even as others celebrate the comforts of
hearth and home. The sparkling
“Piccadilly Circus in the Rain” finds beau-
ty and fascination among the mundane in
its urban setting. Willson-Piper writes him-
self, Mason and other loved ones into an
endearing series of offhand vignettes dur-
ing “In a Field Full of Sheep.” Willson-
Piper’s tumbling guitar arpeggios and
Mason’s thrumming piano are heightened
by Richard Evans’ stately trumpet, echoing
the British-ness of the Beatles’ “Penny
Lane.” Mason’s arrangement for the lan-
guid “The Moon Drips” nods to Spanish
roots and arid Sergio Leone soundtracks.
“Head On” carries the gumshoe cadence
and mysterious mood of a spy thriller, with
a furtively darting flute. Twelve-string gui-
tar shimmers and chimes through the
beguiling “Show,” while its melancholy
Smiths-like coda asks, “What’s the use in
us just pretending there could ever be a
happy ending?” A sinewy lead snakes
through “High Tide/Low Tide” like a dis-
tant cousin to Starfish favorite “Reptile.”
Willson-Piper lets his frenetic fingers fly
during “A Girl with No Love,” finding the
middle ground between Television’s slash-
and-burn rock-jazz and the Cult’s elemen-
tal thunder. The album is available in mul-
tiple formats, crowned by a gorgeous gate-
fold presentation on heavyweight vinyl.
– Jeff Elbel
8
LANCE KING
ReProgam
(Nightmare)
Iconic progressive metal shrieker Lance
King (Pyramaze, Avian, Balance of Power)
has just released his second solo album,
ReProgram, through his label, Nightmare
Records. Self-dubbed as “Celestial Metal,”
the powerhouse vocalist and his killer
guest musician band deliver 11 bombastic
tracks spanning the progressive/power
metal spectrum. The album's title track
opener immediately kicks off with the
catchy chorus while King’s impressive
four-octave vocal range is on full display.
From “Pointing Fingers”’s beautiful piano
intro to “Technology”’s infectious chorus
and energetic pace, to the Iron Maiden-ish
melodies of “Reaction Formation,” to the
almost 10-minute epic closer “A Mind at
War,” King covers a lot of ground through-
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