ENUFF Z ' NUFF Diamond Boy
( Frontiers)
Local rock survivors Enuff Z’ nuff, led by last remaining co-founding member bassist / vocalist Chip Z’ nuff, keep the band’ s legacy alive on its new album Diamond Boy. The 11 sugary, power pop tracks weave their way through your brain with soaring vocal harmonies, hooky choruses and memorable melodies in tribute to the band’ s biggest influences – Cheap Trick and The Beatles. Chip takes over the lead vocal spot vacated by original vocalist Donnie Vie, and rest assured, he sounds fantastic. The songs flow endlessly in a poppy, ethereal way in the band’ s classic, psychedelic-flavored style of its heyday, most notably on“ Fire & Ice.” Equally impressive is the catchy Trick-sounding“ Metalheart,” as well as the title track, while the chorus of“ Faith, Hope & Luv” is a tasty little earworm. The Beatles meets ELO combination on closer“ Imaginary Man” is the final statement that Enuff Z’ nuff are back. After 30-plus years, Enuff Z’ nuff is like the Energizer bunny of the glam / power pop genre,“ They just keep going and going.” Appearing 10 / 24 at House Of Blues, Chicago.
– Kelley Simms
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DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE Thank You For Today
( Atlantic)
If the best music comes from painful breakups, Death Cab For Cutie ' s Thank You For Today qualifies as one of the better albums in their catalog. Following the departure of DCC ' s co-founder Chris Walla and the break up of Ben Gibbard ' s marriage, it would be natural to expect Gibbard to lay low licking his wounds. Energized by new members- guitarist
24 illinoisentertainer. com september 2018
Dave Depper and keyboardist Zac Rae, the new Death Cab does sound rejuvenated on " I Dreamt We Spoke Again " with its trip-hop beats and Cocteau Twins-ish bell chiming production. Logan Square residents will relate to Gibbard ' s lament against neighborhood gentrification( in Seattle) on " Gold Rush," complete with Plastic Ono Band-era samples. While there ' s plenty of classic Death Cab guitar jangle and signature overwrought vocals(" Your Hurricane ") on TYFT, Gibbard and company are most intriguing when they explore their edge on " 60 & Punk," taking aim at their critics, and the gentrified townies who were " happier when they were poor," blanketed over a sea of echoey piano. On Thank You For Today Ben Gibbard ' s pain is our gain. Appearing 10 / 7 at Auditorium Theatre, Chicago
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– John Vernon
DOUG CLIFFORD Cosmo TOM FOGERTY Excalibur
( Concord)
Concord offers this pair of 1972 projects by Creedence Clearwater Revival veterans, originally released in the same year as CCR’ s swan song Mardi Gras, and the band’ s subsequent breakup. Clifford’ s reliable roots-rock drumming provides the familiar CCR ramble. The cheeky cautionary tale“ Guitars, Drums & Girls” echoes the vibe of“ Lookin’ Out My Back Door.” Songs like“ Latin Music” benefit from the lively Tower of Power brass. The track list is dominated by Clifford’ s own roadhouse rock compositions, but there are a few well-chosen covers. Steve Winwood’ s“ I’ m a Man” is propelled by the deep groove of Donald“ Duck” Dunn’ s bass. The Lovin’ Spoonful’ s“ Daydream” shines less brightly, but Clifford’ s performance is affectionate. The Doobie Brothers’ John McFee features on guitar and pedal steel during the shuffling“ Take a Train.” Jerry Reed would have had a blast with the rowdy car caper“ Death Machine.” Clifford has been openly critical of this material and his own singing in the past, while heaping deserved praise upon the all-star band( which includes CCR’ s Stu Cook on guitar). Perhaps Clifford is too close to the subject because the set includes a batch of grooving rock and roll songs like“ Get Your Raise” that go down easy. It’ s true that Clifford is no vocal prodigy, but considering this was decades before the word“ Autotune” was invented, the performances are solid( I hesitate to add the words“ for the drummer,” but …). No fan of CCR would walk out on Clifford singing these songs in a bar. They’ re good fun.
Tom Fogerty’ s second solo album Excalibur is more ambitious and polished by comparison to Clifford’ s rambling and loose set. Songs like the plaintive“ Faces, Places, People” may mean less fun or more artistic depth, depending upon your frame of mind. Fogerty’ s voice is certainly recognizably related to brother John’ s, nd the sentiment of countrified weeper“ Forty Years” about working for the benefit of someone else is not necessarily unrelated to Tom’ s own experience in the shadow of his younger brother.“ Black Jack Jenny” and its story of a crooked card dealer borrows the swamp-rock vibe of Tony Joe White’ s“ Polk Salad Annie.” A CCRstyled lick reminiscent of“ Suzie Q” spikes bluegrass legend Bill Monroe’ s“ Rocky Road Blues.” Additional firepower is provided by the Grateful Dead’ s Jerry Garcia on lead guitar. Fogerty lets his hair down a bit on“ Get Funky,” but sounds looser when chastising a shiftless and freeloading lover on“ Sick and Tired” as Garcia digs into a snaky lead and beloved Hammond B-3 organist Merl Saunders lets his fingers fly. If you’ re willing to drag your expensive needle backward against the audiophile 180-gram vinyl, you can decipher the backward masking on“ Sign of the Devil” and its tug-of-war portrait of resistance and compulsion. Dead fans will gravitate toward the“ Truckin’” vibe of“ Straight and Narrow.” Like Cosmo, Excalibur may not have merited multi-platinum sales, but it’ s a worthy record and a must for any CCR fan completist.
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– Jeff Elbel
LOGAN ' S RUN Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
( Waxwork)
Allow your mind to replay one of the most provocative science fiction films of the ' 70s or any decade while listening to this beautifully remastered orchestral score on premium heavyweight vinyl. Intense and unsettling orchestral tracks like“ The Truth” underscore scenes of turmoil and peril for actor Michael York’ s Logan, who dares to question an ironclad system of computer-controlled government while seeking to preserve his life past the“ useless” age of 30. Much of the early score movements are dark and paranoid, before moving onto scenes that outline the future society’ s idle hedonism at the expense of freedom. After escaping pursuit by his former friends and fellow law-enforcing“ Sandmen,” Logan exits the domed city in search of a non-existent Sanctuary to first encounter“ The Sun.”“ The Interrogation” is a madness-inducing cycle of chaotic synthesizer tracks, marking the end of Jerry Goldsmith’ s predominantly classicallystyled score.“ End of the City” and“ Love Theme” mark Logan’ s triumph against steep odds, and humanity’ s triumph as well. Had it not been for the genre-defining Star Wars in 1977, Logan’ s Run might be considered the decade’ s iconic sci-fi film, in the vein of message-oriented ' 60s classics like Planet of the Apes and 2001: A Space Odyssey. This evocative and compelling
score has been similarly overlooked in the wake of John Williams’ multi-platinum selling soundtrack for *** Star Wars, but time has shown Goldsmith’ s score to be innovative and well worth revisiting.
– Jeff Elbel
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THE DARKNESS Live at Hammersmith
( Cooking Vinyl)
The Darkness is an unapologetically campy throwback to the glory days of FM rock, cribbing from the likes of Queen, AC / DC, the Sweet, and Thin Lizzy. The simple fact is, wise-cracking Justin Hawkins and his bandmates hold their own alongside those titans of rock as a ferocious live band. Live at Hammersmith captures the formidable and goodhumored British band strutting its stuff in front of a London-based crowd. The 19- track album largely mirrors the Darkness’ recent setlist in April at Park West. The relentless chug of Motörhead-styled riffrocker“ Southern Trains” from 2017’ s Pinewood Smile careens madly through every turn, even as Hawkins’ s howling falsetto describes sluggish service, track delays, and over-crowded cars. The frustration will surely resonate with frequent CTA and Metra riders.“ Barbarian” and“ Buccaneers of Hispaniola” are performed back-to-back in gleeful celebration of pillage and plunder, with the latter song raging like a hyper-caffeinated version of Led Zeppelin’ s“ Immigrant Song.” Heavy rocker“ Black Shuck” revels in the tale of a marauding demonic dog. Newer songs like“ All the Pretty Girls” and“ Solid Gold” show the extremes of the band’ s self-referential humor – self-deprecating on the one hand, and self-aggrandizing on the other. Brother Dan Hawkins proves his mettle with meticulous rhythm guitar and stylish solos during songs like the Faces-styled stomper“ Givin’ Up.” Drummer Rufus Tiger Taylor gives a muscular performance at the drum kit, with unflagging energy and monstrous fills for songs like“ Every Inch of You,” while the band displays its knack for close vocal harmony. Bassist Frankie Poullain earns raves from the live audience while hamming it up for the clonking cowbell intro of“ One Way Ticket to Hell and Back.” Justin Hawkins has the Hammersmith audience as his choir during the sublime pop of“ Friday Night.” His impossibly high falsetto on“ Get Your Hands Off of My Woman” combines the finesse of the Bee Gees and menace of AC / DC’ s Brian Johnson. The Hawkins brothers litter the set with spine-tingling guitar solos including the one that brings“ Growing on Me” to its thrilling conclusion. The set closes with encore performances of the intricate( and frankly tacky)“ Japanese Prisoner of Love” and the loopy holiday chestnut“ Christmas Time( Don’ t Let the Bells End),” followed by the brothers’ euphoric twin-guitar leads for breakout single“ I Believe in a Thing Called Love.” Hawkins’ goofy between-song banter is retained and helps put the listener in the audience alongside the other rowdy attendees. The band’ s five albums are cheeky fun, but the energy and wit leaping from Live at Hammersmith should make this the go-to album for Darkness fans.
– Jeff Elbel
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