Got all three Lordi CDs (plus the "It Snows In Hell" and "Hard Rock Hallelujah" singles) in today's mail. I e-mailed their management the day after they won Eurovision - I guess the shipping time to New York from Finland wasn't bad. The latest album, The Arockalypse, sounds kinda like In Flames circa Soundtrack To Your Escape. They're much more technically skilled than GWAR, I'll give 'em that. Their makeup looks better in the album photos, too. And there's a cameo vocal from Udo Dirkschneider on "They Only Come Out At Night," which is probably only a selling point to me.
I also got Lemmy's rockabilly album today. It's kinda disappointing - I'd expected more aggression, but this is a sit-down affair, three dudes (the other two are guitarist Danny B. Harvey of the Rockats, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom of the Stray Cats) playing semi-acoustic versions of old Buddy Holly and Sun Sessions-era Elvis songs ("Not Fade Away," "Trying To Get To You," "Peggy Sue Got Married," "Lawdy Miss Clawdy"). It's not a bad album, but it's more Nonesuch-era Charlie Feathers than, say, Sun-era Charlie Feathers. Lots of overdubs, too - piano parts, backing vocals (weird to hear Lemmy back himself up) and the like. Something like this should have been done plugged in and standing up, one take per song. I hear there's also a live DVD. That'll probably be a lot better.
And speaking of DVDs, the highlight of my month is the arrival of the Minutemen documentary We Jam Econo. Plexifilm, the same outfit that released Sun Ra's Space Is The Place, has really done this one up right - a two-disc set including three live performances, tons of extra movie footage, interviews, music videos ("This Ain't No Picnic," "Ack Ack Ack" and "King Of The Hill") and a totally lush booklet. The Minutemen changed my life in high school; maybe they changed yours, too. Get this thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment