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This Week: Chameleons UK, Don Caballero, Van Dyke Parks  The Chameleons UK - Script of the Bridge Import [Generic] (1983) Formed in Manchester in 1981, the Chameleons were one of the great purveyors of the post-punk-yet-very-melodic-music sound. Script of the Bridge was their first effort, and it's basically a greatest hits compilation. The sound is somewhat of a cross between early Cure and Interpol: very dreamy and atmospheric, yet with a lot of punch and definitely a little edge t'boot. Lead singer Mark Burgess has a very low and wonderful voice, reminiscent of a more cheerful Ian Curtis. He also plays bass. I picked up this album along with a few other Chameleons records sometime in 1998, but they somehow got lost during the hurricane of record purchasing/collecting that happened during that time. I eventually rediscovered this gem and it has since been in heavy rotation on my turntable. I know this column is called my favorite records ever, but I use the title loosely. Still, this album really is without a doubt in my top 20 of all time. It may seem a little dated to some folks, but this records has the classic 80's sound I love with lots of reverb and echoey drums which make it one of the more amazing albums ever.  Don Caballero - What Burns Never Returns Touch and Go Records (1998) They may take their name from a character that appeared on the hilarious Canadian TV show SCTV, but Pittsburgh, PA's Don Caballero are no laughing matter. If you've never heard Don Caballero, they play very intense instrumental prog music with beautiful little guitar licks that sometimes float to the surface. Drummer Damon Che does not mess around. The drums are huge and monstrous and are sometimes even funky. I was once standing in the hallway of my old apartment when I shared this record with my pal Quarterbar of Meanest Man Contest. I was playing this record, and he was playing some of his obscure jazz shit, I think it was Soft Machine, and together the bands sounded amazing. Very crazy and out of control, but at the same time it's obvious all these songs are very methodically written, with many parts and lots of attention to the arrangements. Honestly, it's kind of a nerdy musician's album, not something you'd wanna throw on at a party. But I did hear a story about these guys playing a show in Chicago one time that seems contrary to the party aesthetic: The band before Don Caballero were in the middle of taking their gear off the stage so that DC could set up. Somebody from DC stopped one of the guys and told him "... Hey, great show." The other guy said "Thanks," and then the guy from DC said, "We're gonna blow you off the stage, wimp!" Hilarious!  Van Dyke Parks - Song Cycle Warner Brothers (1968) Ummmm, this is kind of a hard album to describe. Parks helped Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys with write lyrics for the 'Smile' album that ended up never coming out. 'Song Cycle' was his first attempt in making a record of his own before he ended up arranging and writing music for Shelly Duvall's TV series for children. OOOOOOOOOOOK. 'Song Cycle' could be classified as experimental music or Baroque pop, which was an emerging genre of the late 60's. Some of it sounds like ragtime and show tunes, but then out of nowhere it'll sound like Bjork and Matmos. The fourth song 'The All Golden' has a ridiculous intro but after about 30 seconds turns into some kind of weird commercial jingle from the sixties. Oh well. Most of you will probably hate this record but I challenge you to take a break from the norm and throw this on your stereo one night when your lover or roommate least expects it. At the very least Iit will definitely be a conversation starter. Enjoy! As always I will be spinning these records along with others at the dark and dirty Radio Bar located in scenic downtown Oakland at 435 13th street from 5pm until 8pm every Friday. I am also in a band called The Jim Yoshii Pile-Up that may be playing soon in a city near you! See you there! Frankie reviews The Stooges, Stanley Cowell, and Silver Jews Frankie reviews Polvo, Neil Young, and Idris Muhhamad |
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