Echo & The Bunnymen

Live At LIPA

spinART

www.spinartrecords.com

Just five years ago, few could’ve suspected that, in 2001, Echo & The Bunnymen would not only be recording again but releasing one of the best albums of the year with Flowers. Sure, 1995 found Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant performing together again as Electrafixion, but the odds of them returning to the Bunnymen moniker…? Didn’t seem too likely. And, yet, 1997 found them releasing Evergreen, What Are You Going To Do With Your Life? followed in ’99, and then came Flowers. It’s been a long, hard road of evolution and reinvention that’s led to Live At LIPA (Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts), the band’s first-ever live album. McCulloch and Sergeant are the only original members of the band left in its line-up, but, then, some would say that they’re the two that made the band what it was, anyway. (Nothing personal, Les Pattinson and Pete de Freitas.) No, Mac the Mouth isn’t able to hit all the notes on “Killing Moon” like he used to…but that’s more to do with the carton of cigs he goes through each show than it is with his age; it’s still a strong performance nonetheless. Coming on the heels of the band’s career-spanning box set on Rhino Records (Crystal Days 1979-1999), Live At LIPA is a fine companion piece to that 4-disc compilation. Additionally, with new material sitting comfortable alongside the classic tracks from the band’s repertoire, it’s further proof that Echo & The Bunnymen are still a force to be reckoned with.

The Elms

Big Surprise

Sparrow

Could an album title possibly be more apropos? Coming seemingly out of nowhere, the Elms have unleashed a debut album with 10 tracks of awesome pop. Released on Sparrow Records, a haven for contemporary Christian music, Big Surprise contains several songs that scream “instant classic” as early as the first listen. “Who Got The Meaning?” sounds like the Posies meeting the Rubinoos, “A Minute To Ourselves” bears more than a passing musical resemblance to the Caulfields (lots of “doot-doot-doooo”’s), and “Lifeboat” is unquestionably one of the best pop songs of 2001. The closer, “Real Men Cry,” couldn’t more like a Ben Folds Five track if it tried. Strings and trumpets are just a few of the instrumental touches that coat these ten songs. If the Elms don’t end up being spoken of in the same breath as their peers, PFR and All-Star United, there’s no justice. Although folks who aren’t fond of a little Jesus with their music could potentially be scared off by the occasional references to the son of God in the lyrics, fans of pop music aren’t likely to find too many albums this year that’ll be able to compete with Big Surprise.

Extreme

20^th Century Masters: The Best of Extreme – The Millennium Collection

A&M

http://www.universalchronicles.com

When viewing the career of Boston-based rock ‘n’ rollers Extreme, one finds that the band’s greatest successes were on Billboard’s Album Rock chart, where they regularly scaled the top 40, from their self-titled debut album through their fourth release and swan song, Waiting For The Punchline. The band blended the heavy metal stylings of the day (the late ‘80s) with the Beatles and Queen, throwing in a little bit of funk and even a little bit of dance, with the occasional ballad to slow things down.

And the phrase “occasional ballad,” of course, translates into the biggest hit of their career, otherwise known as “More than Words.”

If that self-titled debut album found them gradually breaking out of the traditional metal mold, then the subsequent disc, Pornograffiti, found Extreme throwing away said mold without leaving a trace. As Simon Glickman wrote in musicHound rock: The Essential Album Guide, “it was (their) sophomore effort…that caught the ears of reviewers and discriminating rock fans; with its hard-hitting yet thoughtful rock – a mix of prog-rock virtuosity, feel-good funk-rock and power-pop sweetness – the album demonstrated the group’s potential.”

When compared to Pornograffiti and its two top-five hits (“Hole Hearted” and the chart-topping “More Than Words”), III Sides To Every Story was a commercial failure, with no song making any substantial chart headway. Still, Extreme deserves a certain amount of credit for not putting out an album full of “More Than Words” knock-offs; III Sides To Every Story was a concept album in three parts, with the single, “Stop The World,” having the feel of a minor rock opera in its own right.

Waiting For The Punchline proved even less successful than its predecessor, and, basically, that was all she wrote for Extreme. Guitarist Nuno Bettencourt went on to release a solo album, then formed the band Mourning Widows; vocalist Gary Cherone went on to replace Sammy Hagar in Van Halen for all of one album; drummer Paul Geary had arguably the greatest success of any member, managing Godsmack to significant success.

As with virtually all pre-existing volumes of A&M’s 20^th Century Masters series, no real attempt is made at fashioning a definitive career retrospective of the band; indeed, as the disc’s liner notes reveal, only one track contained within was not a US chart hit of some fashion (“Tragic Comic” being the sole exception). As a result of this format, the disc’s focus is inevitably steered toward Extreme’s greatest successes: Pornograffiti and III Sides To Every Story; Extreme and Waiting For The Punchline only warrant a track each (“Kid Ego” and “Hip Today,” respectively), serving as bookends to the collection.

And, as with many other volumes of the 20^th Century Masters series, it’s a bit difficult to figure out why it exists at all.

Some folks...all of them fans of the band, admittedly...would argue that this so-called Millennium Collection is but a pale imitation of An Accidental Collision Of Atoms: The Best Of Extreme, which came out on Interscope Records a relatively short awhile ago. Those folks would be completely accurate, as every single track from this Millennium Collection disc can be found on An Accidental Collision Of Atoms, with a few more tracks thrown onto the latter disc for good measure ("Cupid's Dead" (HORN MIX), "Leave Me Alone," and "Play With Me," if you're curious).

Oddly missing from both compilations is “Song For Love,” which was a top 20 hit in the UK and received a fair amount of airplay on US album rock radio as well.

To sum up, The Millennium Collection is worthy of purchase if you want to save a few bucks, since it’s cheaper than An Accidental Collision of Atoms. Otherwise, though, if you’re an Extreme fan looking for something you might not’ve heard before, don’t waste your time; you won’t find it here.