This one was a long time coming, and an unusual but fun one to write. The Boston Rock And Roll Anthology features 21 tracks by almost that many different artists, all coming from the Boston Massachusetts area. This is gonna be a super long one, but to keep it a readable length, I'm not gonna go super deep into each track individually the way I originally thought I would. So to save your eyes, both our time, and my fingers, I'm gonna very briefly get into each track and just spew out the major points: who they sound like, what works for me, and what doesn't work for me. This is gonna be the first post of this kind that I've ever done, so hopefully it works out OK. I'll post it the way it turns out, and we can decide together if it works well or not so maybe I can do more like it in the future...
Anyway, here we go.
1. "Everything But Peace" - 3D
This one has a classic blues-rock feel to it. I think the mixing and cool guitar riffs are the best qualities, as well as the simple but appropriately simple percussion. My one note is that there seems to be one cymbal of some kind that stands out rather jarringly over the rest of the percussion. It gets to be pretty distracting.
2. "Space and Time" - Pamela Ruby Russell
This track is very reminiscent of the 80s power-pop girl groups, such as the Go-Go's and The Bangles. My favorite part of the song is found within the vocal style and harmonies. They shine here. My biggest draw back with the song is that its very simply structured without much variation. It's not very engaging as a first time listen.
3. "As It Is" - Karmacar
This one is very reminiscent of 60s-70s groups where the vocals are kept prominent and the instrumentation is left very simple to leave the voices as the main focus. It reminds me specifically of The Mamas & The Papas, with some minor BeeGees flavors in there. The Brothers Gibb only appear in here because of the falsetto nature of the vocals. The mixing and overall sound work pretty well, but I'm not sure I'm a fan of the slow tempo and falsetto sound.
4. "Downtime" - The Complaints
The vocalist has a very Bryan Adams-like tone about him, that adds a pretty unique flavor to the track. It's mixed and mastered quite beautifully, with a plethora of subtle changes and build-ups sprinkled within the meat and potatoes of the song. All that with a sweet little solo thrown in makes for a really interesting first listen. If I had to nitpick, I would say that maybe he says "Downtime" a bit too much.
5. "Faraday" - Phil daRosa
This one has a very unique and interesting sound to it. It almost makes me think of 00's-10's electro-indie pop rock? Kinda? But again I'm not entirely sure what it sounds like. I really dig the overall tone of the track, as it creates a very mysterious and haunty feel while listening. My big drawbacks with the song, however, include the long drawn-out intro, that seems to last forever. I'm not sure about the percussion style here, either. It feels really sporadic and abrasive, almost random in its placement.
6. "Proud Soul Heritage" - Kitoto Sunshine Love
This one is really fun. It's got some gospel flavors mixed with a folky feel-good base. I love the harmonies, and the backing vocals are really the shining star of this track. My one peeve with this song, and maybe it's just the nature of the genre, but she says "soul" so many times it almost gets annoying.
7. "Guardian Angel" - Slapback
This is a fun one too. The whole song has a really full sound, with many layers to peel back. It reminds me very much of No Doubt, but without the nauseating vocals of Gwen Stefani. I think the vocalist is more reminiscent of Alanis Morrisette with her tone. I think the song as a whole is done extremely well. My biggest issue is that the bridge and outro feel a little lazily done compared to the rest of the song. With a little more time and focus spent on them, the whole song would really shine.
8. "Until The End" - Empty County Band
I love this one. It's got a lot of Seattle grungy punk rock sound to it, with maybe a sprinkling of Faith No More. The best parts of the song are the edgy bass groove, wonderful solos, and its overall surprisingly raw sound. What doesn't work is the way it is mixed and mastered, as it doesn't really fit within the compilation with the other, more highly produced singles.
9. "Blackenstein" - Joe Black
This one was unexpected, but definitely a pleasant surprise. Simply put, it's a hard-rock instrumental. It features some impressive guitar work, and some excellent solos done by the guitar, drums, and even the bass. It all works. My one note is that the transitions between the solos could use some more polishing. It feels a hair disjointed at times.
10. "Table Scraps" - Tom Mich Jr.
This is another unexpected gem from the compilation. It's a bluesy funk-rock number with some hints of gospel and soul. It reminds me a bit of Clarence Carter, actually. The vocals, funky guitar tones, and backing vocals/harmonies are all my favorite elements of the song. If I were to tweak it at all, I would say the ending was a little abrupt. And I was hoping for some kind of solo, maybe a harmonica thrown into the mix. But that's just me being nit-picky again.
11. "Counting Down to Zero (From 1)" - Greg Walsh's New Ghosts
This one reminds me a bit of some kind of strange indie-punk and Motorhead combo. Sounds weird, but actually works quite well. I love the aggressive guitar tone and hard-driving rhythm section. I also love the lyric patterns and harmonies, they created a really unique and engaging sound here. My one comment is that the ending could use some polish. The effect seems to last a bit too long. With the sound of the song, I actually wish there was a more abrupt ending here, believe it or not.
12. "The Letter" - Mad Painter
For a compilation of indie artists from the Boston area, I'm surprised at the lack of Boston-rock sounding artists. This song was the first. Imagine Dropkick Murphys, only without the bagpipes and general ridiculousness. The best parts of this track are that they are not the DKM's, and I especially love their use of keys. I only wish that it were mixed a little better and the keys were turned up.
13. "Monster" - Joe Black
This was another really fun jam. It's kinda bluesy hard rock, with hints of grunge and even metal throughout. It actually reminds me of 80s metal band Krokus. The crescendos and full-band jam during the chorus work especially well, as do the solos. My only gripe is that the vocal harmonies could have used some more polishing.
14. "Skeptical" - Empty County Band
This is another one that sounds fresh out of the Seattle grunge-punk scene. This one, to me, sounded a little more Soundgardeny. I love the tone of the bass, and the hard driving rhythm section. The solo is also particularly special. This one has a similar issue to the previous track I mentioned to sound like Seattle. The raw production quality works great on the track, but it doesn't exactly fit within this compilation.
15. "Walk Thru Fire" - Pamela Ruby Russell
This one sounds kinda celtic-rocky, or if Lacuna Coil, or Kobra and The Lotus weren't metal bands. Its got a solid, driving bass groove, great percussion, and a wonderfully unique vocal style. There is a ton of sound variety here, with a lot of experimentation. However, there is perhaps too much experimenting here, and I'm not so sure all the different elements blend together that well. There's chimes, horns, different percussive instruments, spanish guitar, woodwinds, etc etc. It's a little much.
16. "Love You" - Kitoto Sunshine Love
This is a nice little gospelly-sounding folk ballad with tremendous vocal work, accompanied by keys and percussion that compliment each other beautifully. My only note is that the mixing could use a little more polishing, as the piano seemed a little too loud at times throughout.
17. "Who's Foolin' Who" - Karmacar
The 60s-70s reminiscent, Mamas & Papas-esque group are back, but they picked up the tempo a bit and dropped the falsetto tones. The harmonies are stronger here, the pacing is better, and overall it's a more enjoyable listen than their previous single from the compilation. My only gripe, and this may sound familiar, is that they say "foolin'/who is foolin'" a few too many times.
18. "I Thought About You" - Joe Viglione
This is a truly fun, vintage sounding rock and roll track, that reminds me a bit of the Animals or the Turtles maybe. It's mixed well, has a nostalgic feel bringing me back to the days of early harmonic rock and roll, with catchy and relatable lyrics. My only note is that the heavy vocal overdubs get a little distracting at times.
19. "Eleven And A Half" - Dalia Davis
This track features a strong female vocal lead, with subtle guitar and keys flowing delicately underneath. It's mixed quite beautifully, I actually love the choice to keep her voice up front and the other song elements subtly playing underneath her. I especially love the harmonies here, in fact my one drawback with this song is that I wish there were more harmonies.
20. "Bossman" - Fire in the Field
This is a cool little rock tune that for whatever reason reminds me of Jet. It's got a bluesy guitar riff, an edgy vocal style, and angsty harmonies in the chorus. It all comes together magically. My only comment on this one is the solo itself. I love that they included a solo, I've kinda been obsessed with guitar solos since Eddie died, but this solo feels a little disjointed to me. It could use a little more polishing.
21. "Ballad of a Rock Star" - Matty O
This final track is a spirited rock and roll jam, and for some reason it reminds me of "The Entertainer" by Billy Joel and "Keep Yourself Alive" by Queen. They don't sound alike at all, but it's something about the vocal patterns during the verses that makes those other songs pop into my brain. It has a very full, layered sound, and a damn-near flawless solo. It's mixed beautifully, too. My biggest draw are the "hoo-hoo"s that came fresh out of "Sympathy for the Devil." I hated the hoo-hoo's when the Stones did it, and I still hate them now.
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