Athens Ear Buds (10-08-09)

Athens Ear Buds lives to fight another day, and seems as healthy as ever. Go figure. I thought its days were numbered when we restarted the feature in early September and didn't get much response. Of course, as soon as I draw one conclusion about AEB, things change and I've gotta reverse myself.

I would like to see some of the early AEB contributors climb back in the saddle. C'mon people now, smile on your brother... Aw never mind.
If you'd like to become an Athens Ear Buds contributor, drop me a line at news@athensnews.com. Check out our online AEB with lots of groovy video (www.athensnews.com). - Terry Smith, AEB conductor and enabler

Dave Alexander, Athens' resident trainspotter and Dave Rave promoter: KiD CuDi, "Man on The Moon: The End of Day" (released Sept. 15, 2009 on Motown). Judging by the Facebook petition to get Kid Cudi to play at Six Fest last May, the Cleveland native already has a big following in Athens. Ever since his mix tape titled "A Kid Named Cudi" dropped last year, it seems like everything he has touched has turned to gold - from his work on Kanye's "808s & Heartbreaks" album to the collaboration with Sharam on the dance hit "She Came Along." "Man on the Moon" features the previously released "Dan 'n Nite" and a collaboration with Kanye and Common titled "Make Her Say," which makes clever use of a Lady Gaga sample. My favorite track was "Pursuit of Happiness," which features MGMT and Ratatat.

Dan Dreifort plays with Vellumn at Jackie O's on Nov. 6: Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, "Whipped Cream & Other Delights ReWhipped" (Shout Factory, 2006). Austin Powers' 30-year sleep ain't got nothin' on the four decades it took to reinvent this already derivative album. Released in 1965, the original "Whipped Cream" was no slouch, but like most instrumental loungey offerings of the era, it's largely relegated to the obscure "deep classic" bins. Herb Alpert provided the original masters to several notable new-fangled musician/producers, re-recorded some of the trumpet solos and poof! The ReWhipped remixes aren't always a huge improvement, but fans of the original will almost certainly dig the new backbeats. My dad is a big Tijuana Brass fan, but he's kinda stuck in his ways. So when I gave him a copy, he either didn't bother listening to it or found it so unremarkable as to not comment. Me? I like it. (And leave it to Editor Smith to mention that the original "Whipped Cream" cover, with a beautiful, naked young woman sitting in a mountain of whipped cream, was his [and many other adolescent boys at the time] favorite thing about the album.)

John McVicker teaches English as a Second Language at Ohio U; he likes music a whole lot. Oliver Sain, "St. Louis Breakdown - The Best Of Oliver Sain" (Sain Sound, 2009). Oliver Sain, who passed in 2003, was the R&B king of St. Louis. He played alto saxophone and keyboards with, wrote songs for, recorded and produced, or just plain influenced about everyone who ever came out of or was touched by that city's black music community, from the turn of the 1960s until today. You may not know Sain by name, but if you've listened to musicians as diverse as Ike Turner, the inventor of rock 'n roll (look it up), blues star Little Milton Campbell, soul divas Ann Peebles, Shirley Brown and Fontella Bass, pop/R&B sax icon David Sanborn, Howlin' Wolf's long-time sax man Eddie Shaw, jazz avant-gardist Julius Hemphill, or even hip-hopper Sean "Puffy" Combs or certified genius John Zorn, you've listened to musicians who all owe a debt to Sain. This set collects mostly instrumentals in an R&B/jazz/funk groove. On tunes such as the title tune, the super-soulful "Tanya," killer tracks such as "Bus Stop," "Time," and a divine version of King Curtis' standard "Soul Serenade," Sain's tone is full and rich in tone and his playing wonderfully expressive. This is a lovely album. Tip: Although this CD is mostly instrumental, it is not intended to be background music, so TURN YOUR STEREO UP.

Greg Bikowski, bassist for the Bob Stewart Band and the Bikowski Jazz Trio, paramedic for SEOEMS: For a true delight, check out John Pizzarelli with the George Shearing Quintet's "The Rare Delight of You" (Telarc, 2002). This album has been one of my favorites that somehow keeps finding its way to the top of the CD pile. Pizzarelli's suave and Torme-like vocals, backed by fabulous playing by Shearing and his quintet, make this album stand out. Pizzarelli and Shearing offer a clean and refreshing take on some old pop standards, such as "Everything Happens to Me" and "Indian Summer," along with cool originals, such as "I Predict" and the cover tune "The Rare Delight of You." Both Pizzarelli and Shearing bring their own history to the album; Pizzarelli with his family tree (Bucky is his father), and Shearing with his association with jazz legends Mel Torme, Nancy Wilson, and Carmen McRae. The cross of generations, great musicians (i.e. Ted Piltecker on vibes), good tunes and excepional improv really does make this album a rare delight.

Dale Francis: retired roadie/Long Run Audio, Athens, Ohio: I started as a soundman/roadie in 1968 while in high school. When I moved out of my family living situation, I moved in with a rock 'n roll trio called Emma. I have recently found the guitar player from the group. Check him out on YouTube in his current gig, http://tinyurl.com/y8plger).

Andy Vogel is a first year OU student from the Columbus area and a freelance writer: Call it trash-rock, butt-rock or punk riffs from hell, Chelsea Automatic just want to get you in a drunk rock 'n roll frenzy. The past year has had a few ups and downs for the band. They first gained support of fans under the name Chelsea Smile. They even played a few shows down here. However, some other "hard-rock" group under the same name threatened to sue. Thus, violent gesture vanished to automatic. The boys still were able to keep a crowd at shows with hits like "Midnight Gambler" and "Shelby Brown." The music has a taste of bottled-up rock 'n roll minus the mullet action, but mixed in with Crue anthems. On the upside they recently released a full-length CD, "Conquer John," which can be listened to on their Myspace page. Hopefully, they will venture down to Athens in the not-to-distance future.

Barry Wolfe, Athens ex-pat, KALX dj/producer, Berkeley, Cal., occasional music reviewer Blurt online mag, Ptolemaic Terrascope magazine: The Bats, "The Guilty Office" (Hidden Agenda, 2009 CD and MP3's). As a long-time fan who has all their albums and even chatted them up at a party, I would posit that this is one of their finest efforts. This New Zealand band has been cranking out superior jangly pop music for 27 years with nary a misfire along the way. It's a lovely and uplifting album I've been enjoying almost daily. Outstanding tunes; "Steppin' Out" and the chamber pop of "The Orchard."

Terry Smith, Athens NEWS editor, Athens Ear Buds human respirator, and off-and-on music fan: Drive-By Truckers, "The Fine Print: A Collection of Oddities and Rareties, 2003-2008" (New West Records, 2009). This recent release from "one of my favorite bands" combines unreleased songs, alternate takes and other rare tunes from the band's several years on New West Records (for which they still record). I can't think of another band recording nowadays that does as good a job of combining hooks; determined, believable vocals; kick-ass guitar rock; and pointedly direct songwriting. Every song has a point, a story or both, and often are by turns funny and tragic. My favorite on this CD is Patterson Hood delivering the honky-tonk country rave-up, "George Jones Talkin' Cell Phone Blues" (a reference to Jones' car accident from a decade or so ago, which supposedly resulted from a mixture of booze and distracted driving). Along with the originals, this one includes four respectable covers of songs by Warren Zevon, Bob Dylan, Tom T. Hall and Tom Petty.

Pencil, old punk, celebrity judge, shipping/receiving guy and demo-goblin (aka Josh Ryan): Pentagram. I'm not greatly familiar with this band's history but from what I can tell Pentagram, from Virginia, started out around 1971. After a slew of demos, 7-inch singles and breakups, the reformed group released its first full length in 1985. Originally this record was self-titled but renamed "Relentless" after Peaceville records reissued it 1993. Mostly noted for helping to pioneer the Doom Metal genre, Pentagram also boasted the membership of players who would go on to do time in The Obsessed, Spirit Caravan, Raven and Place Of Skulls, to name a few. Pick up "Relentless," the reissued early '70s material, "First Daze Here," "First Daze Here Too" and "Turn To Stone" (which is the first three long players) from Relapse and Peaceville records respectively. Expect some heavy riffage, slower tempos and sinister songwriting. Recommended for nighttime head-nodding sessions on the porch.