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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