Bruce Hornsby and the Range - "The Way It Is" (1986)

Rating: 7

Bruce Hornsby is Springsteen without the aggression, or perhaps Dire Straits without the grit. So if my first reaction to hearing these gentle, smoothly produced, mid-tempo guitar rockers was to throw up in my mouth a little bit, can I really be blamed? And although Hornsby's synthesizer playing is more of an added texture to the songs than the primary focus, its existence at all instantly dates the record to right around 1986. But somehow, as the album kept going, I had the sudden epiphany that every single song had a driving melody and tuneful chorus. This record, in fact, has the opposite problem from my last review. In this case, the production and general vibe turn me off, but after sitting down and giving it a full, focused listen, I can't help but appreciate the craftsmanship and more importantly, the consistency. It'd still be easy to say that the aforementioned flaws immediately sink it, but I'm a fan of nuance in my ratings, so while The Way It Is is certainly no masterpiece, it is a perfectly fine album. Keeper!

Pat Boone - "Sings Irving Berlin" (1957)

Rating: 7

I will admit that my knowledge of pre-rock era standards is low, so I really couldn't say whether Pat Boone's covers of Irving Berlin are good, bad, or mediocre versions. I enjoyed the record, and allmusic.com gave it 4.5 stars, so perhaps that should be enough to content me. The melodic phrasing is typical of singers of this time and although I find the style to be a bit dated in the wake of the much more emotional and personal singing of the rock era, it does have a subtle charm that grew on me throughout the course of the album. One benefit of covering the repertoire of a well-known songwriter is that you can filter out the dregs and indeed, this album is blindingly consistent. All this is to say, I liked the record, and although I probably wouldn't feel any need to own two albums of Irving Berlin covers, Mr. Boone currently has no other competition in my collection ensuring that he will avoid the blue bin.

Big Star - "Third/Sister Lovers" (1978)

Rating: 7

Third/Sister Lovers was released well after Big Star had already dissolved, having been recorded four years earlier and then shelved, presumably for its weirdness. And it is a fascinating listen, as Alex Chilton seemingly intentionally subverted the glistening power-pop of their first two records, releasing a chaotic, uncommercial record. Maybe he just said "fuck it" after failing to reach commercial success with two albums that were lovingly crafted just for the radio. Perhaps there was some consolation in the critical acclaim that eventually followed.

I'd like to say that Third is the band's masterpiece, but I can't go that far. Over the course of the album the sound, at first thrilling, becomes somewhat monotonous, and the hooks begin to dwindle (of course, one could argue that's the point, but there are enough songs here that have hooks, albeit strange ones, that I find fault with the ones that don't). Still, the first half of the record is near-perfect and although it may sound jarring at first, further listens reveal that these songs do indeed possess the classic Big Star elements, just twisted and fucked up. "Jesus Christ" has a perverse, sped up carnival organ intro but although it sounds more raw, it still has a chiming riff and soaring chorus that would have fit on their earlier records if not for the lyrics ("Jesus Christ was born today, Jesus Christ was born"). Similarly, "Big Black Car" with a different arrangement could be "Thirteen" from #1 Record, but instead is slowed down to the point where it sounds like it belongs more on the Twin Peaks soundtrack than in the Big Star catalog. 

Whatever Chilton's intentions, Third/Sister Lovers solidified Big Star's critical reputation as a band that was willing to change their artistic identity without sacrificing, and indeed enhancing their emotional power. And that's a good reputation to have.

Seals and Crofts - "Get Closer" (1976)

Seals and Crofts' trademark is "soft rock", which I have always found is a veiled way to call something boring and watered-down. And indeed, Get Closer is exactly that. On the surface, it might not seem that bad. The duo plays around a little bit with psychedelic song structures, even jamming out (so to speak) on the final track "Passing Thing" and none of the songs are particularly poorly written. Yet the vocals of either Seals or Crofts (I don't really care which) have absolutely no emotion whatsoever, calibrated to sound smooth and good on the radio. The instruments all wash together, with nothing really standing out. And as such, the result is aurally-induced narcolepsy. There is nothing here that could qualify as a guilty pleasure like their hit single "Summer Breeze" and the free-spirited 'jam' on "Passing Thing" is the most boring part of the record since neither Seals nor Crofts nor their armada of studio musicians is capable of an interesting musical idea beyond quoting "As Time Goes By." Blue bin, of course.

John Cougar - "American Fool" (1982)

Although I hate "Jack and Diane," I still attempted to listen to this record with an open mind. I even got a surprising amount of enjoyment from leadoff single "Hurts So Good," which although not exactly a masterpiece, has a memorable Stones-esque riff and a catchy chorus. In an alternate universe where I hadn't heard "Jack and Diane" so much on the radio, I could even imagine enjoying it, as the combination of single guitar chord and hand clap that opens the song is at least novel. But this isn't that alternate universe and I hate this song for those same obnoxious hand claps and the sub-level Springsteen lyrics about two kids growing up in the heartland.

Still, after two tracks, there was one hit and one miss, and I don't look for that high of a ratio when determining what I want to keep. But when after five tracks, there were three more misses, a series of rockers that failed to rock due to weak, strained vocals and boring riffs, I didn't even bother to listen to the second side. So sorry, John Cougar (Mellencamp), you mark the first blue bin record since I started this blog. But I will still try listening to your other record that I own, The Lonesome Jubilee, since it did get 4.5 stars on AllMusic.com, though I reserve the right to remain skeptical.