Concrete Blonde - Still in Hollywood
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Artist: Concrete BlondeEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Published)
CD Release Date: 1994-11-01
Music Label: I.R.S.
Soundtracks:
- It'll Chew You Up and Spit You Out
- Everybody Knows
- Free
- God Is a Bullet
- Probably Will
- Mandocello
- The Ship Song
- Joey [Acoustic]
- Little Wing
- Roses Grow
- The Sky Is a Poisonous Garden
- Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)
- Simple Twist of Fate
- Side of the Road
- 100 Games of Solitaire
- Tomorrow, Wendy
Free Music Notes for Still in Hollywood
Free Music Review: The best band from L.A. since the Doors
Hit: 5 Stars
Usually when a band (or more often a record label) puts out a "rarities" collection you can usually take it for granted that the horse is dead and being flogged a-plenty for the sake of exploiting an artist's popularity under the guise of promoting some of their lesser-known, more obscure work (while of course making as much extra cash as possible on their name in the bargain).
Thankfully this could not be further from the case with Concrete Blonde's "Still In Hollywood", a collection of B-sides, rarities, cover tunes, and live tracks that rivals any "best of" compilation (there are at least two others to date) that have also been released.
"It'll Chew You Up And Spit You Out" (more accurately "Still In Hollywood Pt. II") is a tremendous start-off point, with alternate lyrics that (to me) seem to better define the state of existence in L.A. as seen through the eyes of a musician who's seen the wrong side of it. "Everybody Knows" is so much more beautiful than Leonard Cohen's original version (which should go without saying; Johnette Napolitano's voice is a true thing of beauty, what Patti Smith could've been had she ever decided to, you know, take singing lessons). "Free" is a high-energy punk-influenced two-chord rant with a great chorus hook, and the live version of "God Is A Bullet" is SO much better than the studio original that I only ever listen to the live track anymore. Jim Mankey's pickless style of guitarplaying comes off better live than similar artists (Robby Krieger as an example) and really smokes in this one. "Probably Will" tones it back a bit, resolute and acoustically resetting the tone of the album. "Mandicello" is one my alltime favorite Cheap Trick tunes, and Johnette's voice actually sounds more masculine than Robin Zander on the original. This is another example of a cover version exceeding the original (handily).
"The Ship Song" I don't care for at all...it just doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the tracks (the fact that so much of this compilation CD works as a cohesive effort is testimony to just how good this band really was). And the acoustic version of "Joey" is as intimate as you could possibly expect; Johnette's voice is absolutely naked in its intensity and the lack of greater musical accompaniment encourages her to take the vocal to a level that was lacking on the studio version (which is in itself just a terrific recrding, one of their best songs ever). "Little Wing"...possibly the most-covered Jimi Handrix song of all time, and seemingly impossible to perform badly. The Blonde do a creditable version here, as well...Hendrix fans will be appreciative. "Roses Grow" and "The Sky Is A Poisonous Garden" are live tracks, with "Roses Grow" being the weaker of the two (although as a between-songs-in-a-set rap it works well, I'm sure...Jim had time to grab a beer or restring a guitar with it). THe extended mix of "Bloodletting" is okay...if you really liked the song this won't get old; if it wasn't one of your favorites to begin with the extended version will be insufferable in no time. "Simple Twist Of Fate"...a Bob Dylan cover that just spirals into utter damnation. It's a great song, and they pull it off very well...but it is depressing as hell to listen to. "Side Of The Road" likewise, but "100 Games of Solitaire" kicks in and picks up just in time, a nice, honkin' blues perfect for the road. A live reinterpretation of "Tomorrow, Wendy" finishes the album, and I admit that I prefer the studio version of this one better. They went from "epic" to "stripped-down, bare-bones" in tone and for this song it doesn't work in my opinion.
Here it is, then. It you weren't fortunate enough to hear these guys prior to the "alternative revolution" you could do a lot worse than starting with this compilation to get your feet wet. Just overall a tremendous colletion of work that any other band would consider themselves lucky to have as "A" material; the fact that the Blonde could piece together leavings of this quality makes them truly a band to be reckoned with.
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