ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 26, 1994 By Steve Newton After hearing that Canuck guitar-rock great Kim Mitchell had reunited with longtime lyricist Pye Dubois--and then recorded their new tunes with ace producer Joe Hardy (ZZ Top, Colin James, the Tragically Hip)--I had high hopes for the resulting CD, Itch. Those hopes were … Continue reading Album review: Kim Mitchell, Itch (1994)
Category: Album Reviews
Album review: Gary Hoey, Music from the Motion Picture The Endless Summer II (1994)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 19, 1994 By Steve Newton Rock-guitar maniacs are gonna love this one. Fretboard wizardry abounds in the score to director Bruce Brown's latest surfing documentary, as up-and-coming axe master Hoey tears up the beach on 14 surefooted instrumentals. With the exception of Dick Dale's "Shake & Stomp (Part … Continue reading Album review: Gary Hoey, Music from the Motion Picture The Endless Summer II (1994)
Album review: Cadillac Tramps, It’s Allright (1994)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 19, 1994 By Steve Newton Maybe you've seen that quick shot of hefty Cadillac Tramps singer Gabby Gaborno doing his grizzly-bear-with-shades impression during one of those manic "I Am Canadian" beer commercials. Well, Molson goofed, because the Cadillac Tramps ain't Canadian--they're from Orange County, California. The good news … Continue reading Album review: Cadillac Tramps, It’s Allright (1994)
Album review: Pride & Glory, Pride & Glory (1994)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 5, 1994 By Steve Newton It comes as somewhat of a surprise that Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde is a dyed-in-the-swamp southern-rock maniac, but the New Jersey native is at the forefront of the current trend toward repopularizing the style epitomized by the Allman Brothers Band. On its self-titled debut release, … Continue reading Album review: Pride & Glory, Pride & Glory (1994)
Album review: Gilby Clarke, Pawnshop Guitars (1994)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 5, 1994 By Steve Newton Sometimes I wonder if guitarists join Guns N' Roses just so they can get in the position to release their own solo recordings of punk-inspired garage-rock and blues-based boogie. (I doubt if they do it so they can bask in the positive vibes … Continue reading Album review: Gilby Clarke, Pawnshop Guitars (1994)
Album review: Little Jimmy King, Something Inside of Me
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JULY 29, 1994 By Steve Newton The death of blues guitarist Albert King in December of '92 was a real downer for anyone who had followed the stellar career of the big bulldozer operator and master of the Flying V. King's influence on the likes of Jeff Beck, Eric … Continue reading Album review: Little Jimmy King, Something Inside of Me
Album review: Yngwie Malmsteen, The Seventh Sign (1994)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JULY 29, 1994 By Steve Newton Four years ago Yngwie Malmsteen released an album, Eclipse, that showed the Swedish guitar demon finally overcoming the songwriting deficiencies that had made his previous recordings little more than launching pads for his incredibly fast, classically bent solos. Tuneful craftsmanship had previously been … Continue reading Album review: Yngwie Malmsteen, The Seventh Sign (1994)
Album review: Paul Dean, Machine (1994)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 22, 1994 By Steve Newton I first heard the Texas blues-style rhythm intro and moaning lead surge of Paul Dean's "Couldn't Get Arrested" on the radio while mixing margaritas in my kitchen one sunny afternoon a month or two ago, but I had no idea who it was until the announcer … Continue reading Album review: Paul Dean, Machine (1994)
Album review: the Allman Brothers Band, Where It All Begins (1994)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 15, 1994 By Steve Newton Like a hearty handshake from a rarely seen high-school buddy, every new Allman Brothers release is a hazy reminder of my teenage glory days, when the purchase of a southern-rock LP such as the Allmans' Eat A Peach made everything right in my small-town world. Nowadays … Continue reading Album review: the Allman Brothers Band, Where It All Begins (1994)
Album review: Bryan Adams, Into the Fire (1987)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, APRIL 10, 1987 By Steve Newton The most highly anticipated album ever by a Vancouver artist, Bryan Adams' Into the Fire comes 2-1/2 years after the release of his seven million-selling Reckless LP. Recorded in the living room of the 27-year-old's North Van home, Into the Fire contains 10 … Continue reading Album review: Bryan Adams, Into the Fire (1987)
Album review: John Mellencamp, Dance Naked (1994)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 15, 1994 By Steve Newton Talk about cutting out the fat. John Mellencamp just keeps making his instrumentation leaner as the years go by; now he's gotten to the point where he'll pass up bass and go with drums and guitars only, and the effect--on bare-bones tunes like "Brothers" and "Too … Continue reading Album review: John Mellencamp, Dance Naked (1994)
Album review: Derek and the Dominos, Live at the Fillmore (1994)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 8, 1994 By Steve Newton This two-hour-long double CD is basically a digitally remixed and remastered version of the 1973 Derek and the Dominos double-album In Concert, which is a good thing in itself, but the bonus is that it includes five previously unreleased performances, all culled from the October 23 … Continue reading Album review: Derek and the Dominos, Live at the Fillmore (1994)
Album review: Spin Doctors, Turn It Upside Down (1994)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JULY 8, 1994 By Steve Newton I've listened to this new Spin Doctors CD three times now, and there are only two songs out of the 13 offered that I would care to hear again. "Mary Jane" and "You Let Yor Heart Go Too Fast' are the only cuts … Continue reading Album review: Spin Doctors, Turn It Upside Down (1994)