Lately there have been more records coming to our inbox–review copies for new music are always welcome as long as they are on vinyl. Turntabling makes very few exceptions to this rule (Chris Joss releases being one–damn, how can you say no to another Chris Joss record regardless of format?) so please understand, indie bands–vinyl review copies only!
Two records came last week, Four Legs Good Two, Legs Baaad by Caesar Pink and the Imperial Orgy, plus Grand Hotel by The Explorers Club.
There’s more than just a hint of 70s-era singer/songwriter vibe floating out of Grand Hotel. From the packaging with its simulated record jacket ringwear, the ghost-of-George Harrison riffs on Weight of the World, and the bongos-n-Herb Alpert horns of Run Run Run, this is time capsule rock, and well done at that.
In some places, The Explorers Club comes across as a more freshly-scrubbed Smithereens, except there is absolutely no trace of the melancholy that made Smithereens records so enjoyable. Elsewhere there are nods to J.D. Souther, Todd Rundgren and the Beach Boys.
Many reviewers name-drop Burt Bacharach when discussing The Explorers Club, and it’s true that his influence is felt on this album, but stylistically the band is a bit more unfocused–there is a lot of room for all sorts of sonic nostalgia on the album, and in the group’s live performance videos on YouTube. One of their standout moments as a group isn’t on Grand Hotel–the group’s Kind Of A Drag cover, originally recorded by The Buckinghams, could be considered source code for the group, as is another cover sadly not on this record, Stormy by Classics IV.
There is some really strong material on Grand Hotel. On Side Two, Summer Days, Summer Nights elevates this record to something higher than a tribute to the analog golden age. This is a recording by a group full of confidence in the material–the vocals are much stronger than on the fun-and-bouncy Run Run Run or Bluebird. Not that they don’t sound confident on tracks like Any Little Way or Acapulco, but Summer Days, Summer Nights sounds like the song they could barely wait to record.
Here’s a band that sounds very much like it might like to go in a Classics IV direction but can’t decide whether they’ll lose their way in doing so. There’s equal enthusiasm on the Grass Roots-y Go For You, but listen to the entire Grand Hotel record and you may agree, Summer Days, Summer Nights is THE standout track–it deserves plenty of attention.
Make no mistake–this is NOT the record for anyone currently grooving exclusively on reissues of the Chrome back catalog or interested in unreleased rarities by Christian Death, but for anyone with retro damage (guilty) or a love for the pre-Yacht Rock singer songwriter sounds of Classics IV, Janis Ian and the like, this is a record worth checking out.
(Those of us fortunate enough to be able to listen to Chrome AND Classics IV think Grand Hotel is a bit of all right, too.)
Caesar Pink and the Imperial Orgy offer up a vinyl record called Four Legs Good, Two Legs Baaad. It’s important to review a vinyl record on its own merits rather than compare it to the one you just reviewed, so it took a bit of time to shake off the retro goodness of The Explorers Club so Four Legs Good, Two Legs Baaad could get its due.
Caesar Pink and the Imperial Orgy play a type of music that can only be described, however inadequately, as “rawk”. The lyric sheets reads like a hardcore album, but the music is ranges from sub-Chili Peppers funk attempts to chirpy jangle pop…but without the jangle. The most embarassing part on this is the psuedo-rapping of Rabid, which tries to blend machine-gun delivery with moody keyboard riffs.
There’s even a psuedo Black Crowes moment on this, which wears out its welcome very quickly. Sorry, Imperial Orgy folks, but it’s true.
The band doesn’t do itself any favors by writing on the back cover of the LP, “Recorded and manufactured without funding or interference from any corporations large or small”. This sounds wonderful and anti-authoritarian until you discover the MP3 version of this album for sale on Amazon.com. Ummm, Caesar? Your contradictions are showing.
The lyrics talk a good game about Disney, corporations, religion, and other easy targets, but the album fails miserably by delivering bland instrumentation and been-there-done-that arrangements. Dressing up like angry arty types might be a visually strong fashion statement, but you need more than a wardrobe change to pull it off…and lyrics aside, there’s not a whole lot that’s angry or powerful here.
Joe Wallace reviews vinyl records for Turntabling, but urges bands NOT to send review copies unless they are on vinyl. It’s a vinyl-only review column here, savvy? Send your 12-inch, 7-inch or full length vinyl record albums to Turntabling care of:
Joe Wallace 4520 N. Oakley First Floor, Chicago Illinois 60625
