The Prisoner, created by Patrick McGoohan and George Markstein, follows a former British Secret agent who is held captive in “the Village” by mysterious authorities who want to know why he has resigned his position. The series ran for seventeen episodes, from 1967 to 1968, first on the BBC. Star of the cult show, Patrick McGoohan passed away on January 13th. The popularity of the show rivaled that other British fictional character, James Bond. You can watch the entire “Prisoner” series on AMCTV here
Listen to The Times “I helped Patrick McGoohan Escape”
One of 2005’s best albums was The High Dials “War of the Wakening Phantoms” and now this Montreal power house will unleash more of their neo-psychedelic pop with “Moon Country”. There seems to be more of Radiohead or Coldplay influence here and less overt power pop influence. The band still knows how to write a catchy single, “My Heart is Pinned To Your Sleeve” uses the indie rock model with great results. The riff heavy guitar pop that was part of The High Dials sound is still on “Oisin, My Bastard Brother,” but no other song takes that approach. The newer approach is best represented by “Killer of Dragons” which uses echoing beats and guitar melody to bring this gentle mid tempo song to life. The group still knows how to jangle on “Book Of The Dead” and it resembles U2 and Mother Hips a little here. There is a lot of music (about 67 minutes) to absorb and by the middle of this album the softer ballads like “Angels & Devils” and “Clare” have such a slow tempo and lack of hook, that I was tempted to fast forward these tracks. It finishes strong though, as “Open The Gates” is a cool flowing stoner psyche masterwork with fuzz guitar and echoes that gives The Pillbugs a run for their money. Other highlights include the lovely ethereal “Invisible Choirs” with its weaving harmonies but the dated “Space Hobo” is clearly a misfire resembling a Dandy Warhols outtake. Fans of The Flaming LIps and the above mentioned bands will enjoy this one. Older fans of the earlier stuff may want to skip this, but given a chance the quality of music and skill of the players will win you over.
Here is the top 20 from Bruce Brodeen at Not Lame Records. I haven’t listened to all of these (maybe I’ll get those I missed and review them later). I’ve included CD Baby links where it’s available to hear the tracks too. If you’d like to hear Bruce’s rants and the rest of the top 30, and top 75 just follow this link.
Bryan Scary “Flight Of The Knife” – Not Lame
Greg Pope “Popmonster” – Not Lame | CD Baby
Josh Fix “Free At Last” – Not Lame
Rose Hill Drive “Moon Is The New Earth” – Not Lame
The Cute Lepers “Can’t Stand Modern Music” – Not Lame
Higgins “Z” – Not Lame
BigElf “Cheat The Gallows” – Not Lame
Ness “You Can’t Afford To Feel” – Not Lame | CD Baby
Class Three Overbite “Horses for Courses” – Not Lame | CD Baby
Starling Electric “Clouded Staircase” – Not Lame
The Pranks “Modern Communication” – Not Lame
Frank Ciampi “Big Top Woman” – Not Lame
The Rollo Treadway “self-titled” – Not Lame | CD Baby
Secret Powers “Explorers Of The Polar Eclipse” – Not Lame
Kelly Jones “SheBANG!” – Not Lame | CD Baby
Khalid Hanifi “Pamplemousse Presse” – Not Lame | CD Baby
April’s Rain “Stellar Transmission” – Not Lame | CD Baby
Respectables “Sibley Gardens” – Not Lame | CD Baby
Skybombers “Take Me To Town” – Not Lame
Captain Wilberforce “Everyone Loves A Villian” – Not Lame | CD Baby
An experienced musician and active commercial producer, Chris English weaves a lush sonic tapestry on “Dreamtown.” The sound is reminiscent of Colin Moulding of XTC with a dash of Peter Gabriel prog folk. Opening with the REM-like title track, Chris makes it clear he uses the harmonic elements of both electric and acoustic guitars, with delicate female vocal harmony in the background. A bit of electric folk pop is evident in “I Can See Everything” and the lovely follow up “Autumn” sounds like it came off XTC’s Mummer. These sweet delicate tones are made for perfect relaxed listening. “Without You” also seduces the listener with wonderful harmonies and chord changes here. Occasionally a bit of Alan Parsons styled AOR shows up (“Downtime” and “The Letter”) but it fails to make much of an impression. Another highlight is “I Can Take It” with it’s smooth piano chords and layered melody. Later in the album the songs pick up tempo, with the Beach Boys-like “Summer Revisited” and “Sunshine Routine” – I just wish Chris’ vocals were stronger here, as they float above the melodies, like having two sets of backing vocals. The epic ending track “God Is In The Silence” is a great celestial ballad with some Dark Side Of The Moon production techniques. Jeff Larson, Andrew Gold and Jeffrey Foskett fans will want to pick this one up for sure. If you enjoy highly textured baroque pop, you will love Chris English.
Are you looking for a group that knows how to rock with a sense of humor? The Ragamuffins of Love played at IPO this year and have the musical chops to show off on the opener “Kiss Those Good Times Goodbye.” Sung and played by the likes of Eff Dupp, Amadou Schbag, Kaye Seurat and Saul Goode. I think Bart Simpson will be calling Moe’s bar looking for these guys for sure. Eff (aka Sandy McKnight) has a slurred quality to the vocals that recall Joe Walsh or Randy Newman a bit. The riffs and melodies here are no joke though. The next song, “Tangerine” get into your head pretty well, and the “Plastic Yellow Raincoat” is a great song here in the Elvis Costello vein. The skinny tie jangle pop of “Julie Fashion Queen” will bring sweet memories to many power pop fans of the 80’s. More highlights here include “All Broken Hearted Lovers,” and the Pete Townshend’s gin soaked “It’s Not True.” Eff then lets the band go for a metal/punk intro sound on “I Want My Money Back.” The intro doesn’t match the song that well here. Overall, the production is a slightly uneven, and the backing vocals aren’t that good, but the songwriting and musicianship is solid gold here. I only expect improvement from these guys. Fans of The Kinks, Elvis Costello and Buddy Love will love this stuff. I wised up, you should too.
