Review: Wizards Of Waverly Place – Original Soundtrack

Wizards Of Waverly Place – Original Soundtrack/Various Artists
2009, Walt Disney Records
Wizards Of Waverly Place is one of the hottest television properties Disney owns these days, so it’s no surprise that they’ve chosen to release a soundtrack from the show featuring such young stars as Selena Gomez, Aly & AJ, KSM, Drew Seeley and Raven-Symone. Wizards Of Waverly Place features twelve tracks that are from or inspired by the hit show, many of them Rock and Pop classics with the word magic in the title that have been re-interpreted to varying degrees of success. Wizards Of Waverly Place was released on August 4, 2009.

Series star Selena Gomez has four songs on the soundtrack. Opening with Disappear, a highly produced bit of Pop fluff, Gomez displays a strong, pleasant voice amidst heavy hooks. This is a legitimate Pop hit outside of the teeny bopper set the show is aimed at. Magical is another legitimate Pop hit. Gomez shows off a lot of texture in her voice here and a quirky side that is endearing. Up next is a cover of Pilot’s Magic that’s updated for today’s Pop sound. I can’t say I’m a big fan of this version but it isn’t too far off the mark. The other Gomez track is the series theme song, Everything Is Not As It Seems. If you listen to any sort of Pop radio you already know this one.

Up next is Steve Rushton covering Jeff Lynne/Electric Light Orchestra’s Strange Magic in a faithful cover with incredibly harmonies. This was my favorite cover on the disc, and Rushton shows real talent as a vocalist. Honor Society takes on The Cars’ Magic and loses in a Karaoke club bit of blandness. The vocalist here just doesn’t have the panache or quirk of Ric Ocasek and ends up sounding mechanical. Mitchel Musso digs into The Police’s Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic to much the same effect found on the previous track. The vocalist displays little personality and is so ensconced in vocal effects and pitch correction software we may never know what his voice really sounds like. This rendition is bland in spite of the upbeat chorus. KSM gives a fair rendition of Steppenwolf’s Magic Carpet Ride, providing enough attitude and oomph to make the song believable and fair harmonies to boot.

Meaghan Martin draws Olivia Newton-John’s Magic and delivers a flat, highly-processed reading that simply doesn’t work. The energy and vitality of the original make this unlistenable by comparison. Andrew Seeley (of High School Musical fame) takes on America’s You Can Do Magic in a version designed and produced to do well on Pop Radio. There are more vocal effects here than you can wrap your head around in a re-envisioned Pop/Dance package. Raven Symone chips in with Some Call It Magic, a decent but not highly memorable pop tune that will likely play well on Radio Disney and not elsewhere. Aly & AJ hit gold covering The Lovin’ Spoonful’s Do You Believe In Magic. There has always been something of a bubblegum quality to this song, and that spirit isn’t lost here, but the vocalists have wonderfully textured voices that highlight the duality of the song. While vocal effects are probably endemic on anything Disney touches, the voices of Aly & AJ sound like they might just be real, and the energy here is high.

Wizards Of Waverly Place is a mixed bag. Highlights include Aly & AJ, Andrew Seeley, Steve Rushton and the irrepressible Selena Gomez. The choice of including covers of classic songs either soars or crashes and burns, depending on the artist/song. Some of the artists included here just don’t have the voice or personality (either that or it’s been produced out of them) to carry the songs they’ve been assigned. The album will do very well with the Radio Disney set, and some of the songs are legitimate Pop tunes that will do well on commercial radio. This is one of those albums where the ability to download just the songs you want may be advantageous.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Wizards Of Waverly Place at Walt Disney online. You can purchase Wizards Of Waverly Place at Amazon.com, or you can download the album from Amazon MP3 or iTunes.

Review: Jonesin' - Hi, We're Jonesin'!

Jonesin' - Hi, We're Jonesin'!
2009, Telemarketer’s Worst Nightmare

Matt and Jenny Jones are getting married! In September of 2010, the couple will tie the knot officially, although they’ve already wed their musical fortunes to great effect. Mixing a Devo-esque Geek Pop with Japanese Pop (J-Pop) with drum programming, Casio keyboards and perhaps some medicinal assistance, Jonesin’ has crafted a unique sound that will get under your skin. Jonesin' set out to record material under the guidance of The Motels' Matha Davis at her personal studio. The result, their debut album, Hi, We’re Jonesin’! will have you either falling in love with Jonesin’ or taking a machete to your CD/MP3 player. There’s little middle ground.

Hi, We're Jonesin! opens with Rollerskates, an intriguing love song that's part geek, part Pleasantville-weird Utopia and part cheesy 1970's television musical. Highly keyboard driven, the song features both vocalists, with Jenny Jones sounding a bit like a moll from a mob movie and Matt Jones sounding a bit like Gordon Lightfoot. Bummer Summer continues in a similar vein, with the sort of keyboard arrangement you might have heard programmed into a Casio keyboard in the late 1980's. Bummer Summer actually was quite apropos for a year when temperatures in much of the Western Hemisphere never quite got into a summer pattern. Jonesin' gets into an ethereal/psychedelic mindset for Too Stoned To Screw. The song is anathema to the punk classic Too Drunk To F#ck, sticking to a highly mellow vocal line and a Brookstone nature CD keyboard part. For the song Ice Cream I have to present you a mental picture. Imagine if Grease was filmed in a junior high instead of high school with the cast of Revenge Of The Nerds. Ice Cream would be the sort of song that would come out of such a movie. It's a beauty that borrows liberally from Sippin' Cider Through A Straw but is none the worse for wear.

2012 takes off on the most recent popular urban myth that the world will end in 2012. It's a child-like, optimistic take on the survivalist mentality done with a bit of panache and a shift of wit. The song is wonderfully melodic and catchy. Hey, Aliens? is a fanciful attempt at communication with life from outer space, presented with the humor and naiveté of youth, reminiscent of the folks who chose to stand on top of a Los Angeles skyscraper and greet the invaders in Independence Day. What If? asks existential questions about how you might change your life if you had the opportunity, although it goes into those questions with pre-conceptions about aliens and alternate universes that may not be the societal norm. It's a catchy tune that will get stuck in your head. Jonesin' closes out with How Much You Wanna Bet?, an Americana gem about commitment and giving yourself over to a cause (such as marriage). Once again, the naïveté of the two vocalists, or characters, is striking.

The more I listen to Hi, We're Jonesin'! the more I get the impression that it's more like a Rock Musical or concept album than just a collection of songs. The two vocalists have distinct personae that stay solid throughout the album, with relational ideas that show up across songs. The characters here are naive and idealistic and somehow very real. When I first listen to Hi, We're Jonesin'! I didn't like it (which means I didn't get it right away), but this is a brilliant album. The nerdy keyboard arrangements set the tone, with Jenny Jones’ wide-eyed ingénue and Matt Jones’ guileless bravado creating a Utopian setting for either a perfect life or a disaster. Jonesin' does us all a brilliant turn on Hi, We're Jonesin'! I highly recommend you check it out.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Jonesin’ at www.myspace.com/jajonesin. Hi, We’re Jonesin’ drops on September 8, 2009. Keep checking their MySpace page for availability.

Review: Gemma Ray - Lights Out Zoltar!

Gemma Ray - Lights Out Zoltar!
2009, Bronzerat Records

Gemma Ray is a sensation in her native England, writing dark and emotive songs in styles that range from Americana to 1950's and 1960's pop. If you find musical embodiment to Quentin Tarrantino's psyche it might just be a Gemma Ray album. Comparisons have included Lee Hazelwood, Nina Simone, Isobel Campbell and Norah Jones on Amy Winehouse's drugs, but it's clear that Gemma Ray has struck a chord so vital in UK fans that she's become something of a phenomenon. Ray's US debut, Lights Out Zoltar! drops on October 26, 2009, and has few peers stylistically. Fans of Canadian singer/songwriter Sarah Slean will be highly intrigued, and the comparisons to Tori Amos, Milla Jovovich and Bjork will be made, but Gemma Ray is no one if she's not herself.

Traditional instrumentation isn't an issue for Ray, who uses whatever sounds right to her irrespective of whether it's conventional. The opening track, 100 mph (in 2nd gear) is beaten out on a hollow body guitar with a kitchen knife while a toy piano tinkles in the background. Ethereal backing vocals and a gothic European cabaret pathos fills out the sonic landscape in support of Ray's entrancing vocal. Snuck A Peak sounds a bit like a Fiona Apple song played at the wrong speed on a phonograph. The surreal effects applied here make the song sound like it's in dimensional limbo with Ray's voice acting as the focus point. The song is beautiful in bleak fashion. 1952 takes an almost Surf sound and turns it into music noir with lyrics in both English and French. Death Roll is one of the more unusual tracks on the disc. Death Roll sounds like French Cabaret in a mad house; highly entertaining yet disturbing all at once.

No Water is an allegory for being caught in the emotional wastelands that we all find ourselves in from time to time. Considering the darkness of the subject matter, the chorus is bright and full of warm vocal harmonies. Ray eschews the gothic feel that pervades the album for gentle pop that runs entirely counter to the neurosis it envelopes. If You Want To Rock N Roll is bleak with depressive overtones and kind of gets stuck in itself, but Ray returns strong with Something Shifted, returning to the Americana style she started out with. The song represents a coming-to-terms with change even if it never really defines what's changed. Ray closes out with So Do I, a return to Carol King-style songwriting with a melody you could hear a group like the Chiffons Doo-Dooing along to.

Gemma Ray is unique and interesting as a songwriter, opting for an almost Madrigal Rock built on a wide range of traditional and toy instruments, all wrapped around the highly textured and beautiful voice she possesses. Lights Out Zoltar! is a dynamic Cabaret/Lounge trip you don't want to miss.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Gemma Ray at www.myspace.com/gemmaraymusic. Lights Out, Zoltar! will be released in the US on October 26, 2009. If you can’t wait, the UK release will drop on September 7, 2009. You can purchase a copy of UK release of Lights Out Zoltar! At BronzeRat.com. Digital copies will be available through BronzeRat on the date of release.

Review: PromiseLab - When The Lights Go Down

PromiseLab - When The Lights Go Down
2009, Tbn Audio

Baltimore, Maryland quartet PromiseLab was born as a duo in the basement of a row house and has metastasized into a soulful, rock band with a sound that demands to be heard. Singer/guitar player Shayne Hudson and drummer Larry Rohleder were the genesis of the band, with bassist Jon Adams and lead guitar Keff Klinetob filling out the roster. PromiseLab released their debut album, When The Lights Go Down on Rohleder's Tbn Audio label and are ready to take their brand of Rock N Roll to the world.

There's a mellow vibe that pervades When The Light Go Down. Opening with the title track, PromiseLab uses a blend of Rock, Funk and Soul to create a groove that makes you want to dance and sing along. Wrong Way finds PromiseLab seemingly trying to capture a middle ground between Hootie & The Blowfish and John Mellencamp; its quasi-Americana feel plays right into this blend sonically. Everything thus far sounds good, but I'm still waiting for a track to knock me out, blow me away or however else you care to think about. For all of the talent and decent sound that are part of When The Lights Go Down, that wow moment never comes. Songs like Stand By, New Dawn and Where To Now provide that easy-to-consume, easy-to-forget vibe that makes for great pop radio fodder but doesn't really make a lasting impression. Even on more upbeat songs like Burned Again the emotional Pop oomph just doesn't appear. The best moment on the disc comes with the last song, 1991, a country song that seems more authentic than the rest of the material presented on When The Lights Go Down.

PromiseLab is a talented bunch of musicians who are decent songwriters and would make for an enjoyable live show. On recorded media the cracks show a bit too clearly. While the songs offered by PromiseLab are pleasant and listenable, they didn't stick with me in any substantive way even after a dozen trips to the CD player. The album is good, but there isn't anything here that hasn't already been said or done better, and the end result is a pleasant bit of music without much bite.

Rating: 2.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about PromiseLab at http://www.tbnaudio.com/ or www.myspace.com/promiselab. You can purchase a copy of When The Lights Go Down at the TBN Audio Store.

Review: Jessie Murphy In The Woods - Eight Belles

Jessie Murphy In The Woods - Eight Belles
2009, Rex Records

Sometimes you get into the middle of the recording process and simply realize the sound isn't working for you. That's what happened to Jessie Murphy, then a Masters in Music candidate at Columbia University in New York City. She approached two classmates, Marcia Wood (Wurlitzer, flute, clarinet, harmonica, pan pipes, vox) and Amy Wood (horn, cajon/percussion, flute, melodica, autoharp, vox) and asked them to come along for the ride, not realizing the instant chemistry they would find playing together. From the ruins of one project a primal force of Chamber Pop was born in Jessie Murphy In The Woods. The band has toured the UK (with a feature spot on Cambridge University Radio) and played dates all across the United States. Their first venture into recording together has resulted in Eight Belles, an EP that began making the rounds in mid-2009. Eight Belles holds the magic of a fairy tale and the promise of a troubadour, all wrapped up in the beautiful, gothic tapestry of music woven by Jessie Murphy In The Woods.

Eight Belles opens with New York City Lights, a love-song from Murphy to her constant companion and best friend, the city in which she lives. Murphy's voice is mesmerizing, and the harmonies coming from the Woods create moments so palpable they are almost frozen in time. In The Woods is a song about discovery that could be a metaphor for musical experience of the band, personal experiences, relationships, etc. The lost feeling perhaps implied by the title quickly slips away in the wake of a sense of wonder and an exquisite arrangement that's more Baroque than Pop. Owen Wilson uses a bit of humor to honor all those whose passion or talent drive them to the edge and beyond of societies expectations. When I Am A Horse Again is one of the more unusual musical allegories I've come across, recalling a perfect childhood moment and yearning for the sort of perfection we only know once. Written in a form of lyrical prose, When I Am A Horse Again is strong on imagery and may lose you if you try to get too analytical with the lyrics. Perhaps the biggest surprise on the disc is Eight Belles, a tribute to the horse who nearly took the Kentucky Derby away from Big Brown in 2008 until her ankles gave out. The horse was euthanized but gains immortality in a touching and beautiful song with a melody that's destined to be considered "traditional".

Jessie Murphy In The Woods is a serendipitous coming together of three musicians with singular voices who work together like The Muse's own instrument, creating magic each time they step on stage or in front of a microphone. If there's any basis for a Pop/Classical musical Renaissance, it will start with a band like Jessie Murphy In The Woods. The music presented on Eight Belles is innovative, beautiful constructed and has a distinct air of virtuosity about it. Welcome to the big dance, Jessie Murphy In The Woods. Before the night is over you might just be the belle of the ball.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Jessie Murphy In The Woods at www.myspace.com/jessiemurphyinthewoods, www.myspace.com/jessiemurphy or http://www.jessiemurphyinthewoods.com/. Presently there is no online availability of Eight Belles that I could locate, although if you contact Jessie Murphy In The Woods through their MySpace page I’m sure you can work something out.

Review: Bums Lie - Stumblin & Mumblin'

Bums Lie - Stumblin & Mumblin'
2009, Bums Lie

To fend off questions from rabid Sublime fans, no, this isn't another Sublime side project. (Sublime released an underground record a number of years back under the band name BumsLie). Bums Lie is a Charlotte, North Carolina quartet with a serious love of Reggae, Ska and Punk who adds touches of 1960's Motown and Roots Reggae into their music. Since coming together in 2001, Bums Lie has released three albums and opened for Damien Marley, Yellowman and King Django among others. Bums Lie's latest CD, Stumblin' & Mumblin' is a live recording from a show a 2009 show at the Visulite Theater in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Stumblin' & Mumblin' opens with Brokedown Soldier, a wartime tale with a Reggae beat. It's a highly musical arrangement with a strong melody line. Edge Of Civilization is guaranteed to get you moving; it's probably one of the more enjoyable tunes I've heard of late. Just A Game has a gentle Reggae arrangement with real potential for Pop crossover. This is a first class piece of songwriting that deserves real attention. You Do Me Wrong is another song with real crossover potential. I wouldn't be surprised to hear this tune licensed for movies or television in the future. The album closes out with three "FM Editions", presumably radio-friendly versions without objectionable language: Edge Of Civilization, Captivating and Just A Game, before launching into an encore of Stand By You.

Bums Lie's Stumblin' & Mumblin' is decent. There's not a lot of variety in sound or dynamic on the album which causes Stumblin' & Mumblin' to drag on, particularly toward the end of the disc. The voices and instrumentation are all fine, and it’s clear from the disc that Bums Lie has a solid local and regional following. I don't know if Bums Lie dispays enough here to justify being a big time band, but a solid career is certainly within reach.

Rating: 2 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Bums Lie at www.myspace.com/bumslie. You can purchase a digital download of Stumblin’ & Mumblin’ at Amazon MP3.

Review: Lillie Lemon - Nobody To Thank

Lillie Lemon - Nobody To Thank
2008, Core Reality Productions

Lake Sheboygan, Wisconsin is a small town where being local still matters. That's why no matter how much she travels or tours, it's always Lake Sheboygan Lillie Lemon returns to. After teaming up with guitarist/co-songwriter Dave Durian in 2008, Lemon knew she had found someone with whom she had the right musical chemistry to write songs with. Their combined efforts make up Lillie Lemon's debut CD, Nobody To Thank. Lemon has a following of devoted fans called "Lemonheads" and a strong local network of fans, businesses and charitable organizations that have supported her and that Lemon continues to support, but as Lemon begins to look at the larger horizons for her music the future is uncertain.

Lemon kicks off Nobody To Thank with Water's Edge, a melancholic Folk/Rock tune with a minimalist bent and a stark sound. Lyrically the song is adrift, relying on repetition and short-range symbolism. To a lesser degree, It Was OK falls into a similar trap, with Lemon delivering verses that sound somewhat improvised and a chorus that repeats ad nauseum. Sinking improves Lillie Lemon's lot, coming off as a slow tune ala Edie Brickell. Home Road hits a more structured note; a fuzzy bit of Americana with a decent melody. Nobody To Thank continues in the vein of melodic melancholy thus far established with the title track. Fans of the Cowboy Junkies who always wished they'd go for a less polished sound will love Lillie Lemon, as the fuzz factor is still here in the guitar, but the downtrodden, mellow vocal style will strike real similarities to that of Margot Timmons.

Texlahoma Story is the clearest display yet of one the idiosyncrasies of Lille Lemon's voice. Her relationship with pitch at times is spurious; Although Lemon is never wholly out of tune she does appear at times to hear her own internal accompaniment. This is most notable in the latter part of phrases. The result is a bit harmonic dissonance that can be jarring for the listener. Lyrically, Lemon keeps things simple, sticking with conversation prose, almost as if she's transcribed journal entries on sheet music and chosen to sing them. The result is a collection of songs that vary in sound from pretty to nearly-falling-apart that lack any real emotional intensity. The Professor Song offers up a caricature of a young woman with boundary issues and little in the way of subtlety going for her. There isn't enough here lyrically to make the character real; just a few repeated lines that outline in brief what might be a fascinating story in music if it were told. Nobody To Thank closes out with Be Still, perhaps the best songwriting work on the album.

The stars just never align for Little Lemon on Nobody To Thank. Musically, the album never quite rises about Open-Mic Night at the coffeehouse material. Vocally, Lemon is passable but does have real issues with pitch (ala Edie Brickell) and the songs just don't have much to keep listeners coming back. Lemon has nice tone in her voice at times, but there just isn't a lot here that would make Nobody To Thank stand out in Indie Rock circles. There are folks out there that enjoy this sort of homogeneous, melancholic drone-rock, but even among that demographic this disc just might not make it.

Rating: 1.5 Star (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Lillie Lemon at http://www.lillielemon.com/ or www.myspace.com/littlelemon. You can purchase a copy of Nobody To Thank at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/lillielemon.