Everclear - Return To Santa Monica

Everclear – Return ToSanta Monica
2011, Cleopatra Records

Through it all, Art Alexakis just keeps going. His band, Everclear is on its third lineup, with the only originalremaining member being Alexakis himself. The Portland, Oregon band, formed in 1992, were darlings of the alternativerock scene throughout the 1990’s, leaders of the pop-based rock response to thegrunge sound coming out of Seattle. There has been a trend in the last few years of bands re-recording theirhits, as aging acts separate from the major label apparatus have found a way toregain control of their catalog for licensing. Everclear jumps on the bandwagon today with Return To Santa Monica.

The up side to such a move is it improves a band’s ability to generate income;for fans it can be an opportunity to hear a fresher version of a favorite hitor three.  Everclear does right by thefans with Return To Santa Monica,offering up a nearly live sounding collection of reborn hits from theircatalog.  “Santa Monica”, “I Will Buy YouA New Life”, “Father Of Mine” and “AM Radio” are particularly vibrant.  “Unemployed Boyfriend” seems even better thanit did the first time around, though whether this is due to a change in therendition or a change in the times it uncertain.  Everclear rounds out the remakes with “Wonderful”and “Everything To Everyone”.

Perhaps the biggest treats for fans, however, are the cover songs spreadthroughout the album.  The remake of TomPetty’s “I Won’t Back Down” is classic, and Steve Miller’s “The Joker” gets anew look.  Death Cab For Cuties “I WillFollow You Out Of The Dark” is among the highlights on the disc, as is theclosing number, Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl”.  The only misfire on the entire album is asomewhat messy cover of The Police’s “Every Breath You Take”, which Alexakismuddles his way through on, showing neither the vocal range nor (here, atleast) the sense of personality to pull this tune off.

These sorts of collections are as much for financial gain of the artist (asopposed to a label) as they are for fans. Sometimes such collections can be ill-gotten nightmares, but Everclearmanages to pull the whole thing off with a bit of panache.  The album plays like an intimate live show,with even the production values bending in that direction.  So instead of a boring retread of hits andcovers you know, listeners get a quality, live-in-studio set of songs that willhave you tapping your toes and remembering the 1990’s fondly.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)
Learn more about Everclear at www.everclearonline.comor on Facebook. 
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Steve Lieberman (The Gangsta Rabbi) - The Rabbi Is Dead

Steve Lieberman (The Gangsta Rabbi)- The Rabbi Is Dead
2011, J-Dub Records

The Gangsta Rabbi is back. NewYork's reigning king of garage punk, Steve Lieberman hits harder than ever onhis 3rd album for J-Dub Records, The Rabbi Is Dead. Lieberman's insightinto social, political and religious issues is as wonderfully skewedand-yet-somehow on the mark as always. With 50,000 albums sold, 2 milliondownloads and 100K YouTube views, The Gangsta Rabbi is an undergroundrevolution.

The Rabbi Is Dead traverses the socio-political landscape, touching onsubjects such as STDs, taxes, prejudice, puppies, the Police reunion and thefall of commercial radio. As always, you'll need a lyric sheet to have any ideawhat Lieberman is singing about, the music is entertaining, and Lieberman'slyrics deciphered offer a slightly twisted yet viable understanding of theworld as it is, and perhaps how it should be. Highlights include the wild"A Dove Flies Over Baghdad", "Jewish Boy In The Moshpit","Plus Sized Girls (Always Rock My World)" and "Over The Sea OfReeds".

Lieberman fleshes out the sound thistime around, adding six-string guitar into the mix, augmenting the usual drums,bass and flute sound and giving his songs more sonic weight and density. It wouldbe nice to listen to a Gangsta Rabbi record without a lyric sheet, but itsomehow just wouldn't be right. The Rabbi Is Dead is certainly anacquired taste, but if you really get it, you'll love it.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Steve Lieberman at www.gangstarabbi.com or www.myspace.com/gangstarabbi.  TheRabbi Is Dead is available from Amazon.com as a CDor Download.  The album is also available via iTunes. 

Alice Ripley - Daily Practice, Volume 1

Alice Ripley - Daily Practice, Volume 1
2011, Sh-K-Boom Records

TONY winner Alice Ripley has been acting on and off Broadway for twenty years, as well as recording albums and gigging with her band Ripley and creating works on canvas and in mixed media.  As an artist whose creative energies seem to have no end, Ripley often uses one art form to balance off another.  So it was in 2009, when Ripley played conjoined twin Diana in Next To Normal.  Aside from earning Ripley a TONY for best actress in a musical as well as a Helen Hayes award, Next To Normal left Ripley with another legacy.  Each night Ripley would return to her hotel room and recover from the emotional weight of her performance by singing some of her favorite songs while accompanying herself on acoustic guitar.   These impromptu therapy sessions were memorialized on the album Daily Practice, Volume 1, released earlier this year on Sh-K-Boom Records.

Daily Practice, Volume 1 is raw and unvarnished, featuring Alice Ripley in an almost manic performance state.  The result is unsettling at times, striking at others, and throughout is underscored by the emotional complexities and beauties of the human condition.  Ripley opens with Carole King's "It's Too Late".  This is one of the mellower offerings on the album, but Ripley's vocal performance is impassioned and full of emotion.   "Message In A Bottle" is halting and uncertain at times.  While the original version by the Police seems to focus more on the hope for salvation, Ripley's version seems more focused on the desolation and hopelessness of the narrator's position.  The performance is striking and raw, delivered in the uncomfortable tones of someone who doesn't know what to do next.

"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" is played straight to the letter, but misses the soaring feel of the original in a workman-like performance.  Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know" is slowed down a bit, with Alice Ripley all over the place vocally.  Ripley seems to relish the emotional outbursts of the song, articulating representatives of the FCC's seven deadly words with particular fervor.  "Essence" (Lucinda Williams) displays a particular vulnerability; the emotional charge in Ripley's voice is palpable and real. 

Ripley goes all out for Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road", capturing the gritty honesty of Springsteen's writing style perfectly.  The sense of hope and joy amidst a dreary world is compelling.  Nanci Griffith's "The Flyer" drips with the loneliness of the road, staying true to the original.  Ripley takes on The Eagles' "Take It Easy" in halting fashion.  It's a solid cover, but doesn't have the carefree feel of the original.  Ripley takes a fair shot at R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts", but sounds overwrought.  The whiney, self-involved nature of the song and the heaviness of Ripley's voice just don't make for a great mix.  Ripley closes on sound footing with a solid cover of Carly Simon's "Anticipation".

Cover albums are always fraught with difficulties for fans and critics alike, but Daily Practice, Volume 1 is not your typical cover album.  The ten songs collected here represent a daily process of catharsis that allowed Ripley to maintain her balance during one of the most trying roles of her career.  The unvarnished nature of the album will give some listeners pause.  This is Alice Ripley, warts and all.  Most artists would never have the audacity to release recording in such a raw state.  From a purely aesthetic standpoint, Daily Practice, Volume 1is raw and unsettling.  Put into perspective, it becomes a statement of freedom, and of that particular beauty that grows from human imperfection and perseverance.  Daily Practice, Volume 1 comes straight from the heart.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

 Alice Ripley's web presence is fleeting and hard to find.  Her blog, aliceripleylinkup.blogspot.com has not been updated in a while, but you can pick up some good information about her there.  The site for her band, Ripley, www.myspace.com/ripleytheband has also not been updated in a while.  Luckily, Daily Practice, Volume 1 is available from Amazon.com as a CD or Download.  The album is also available via iTunes.