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PLAYING OUT LOUD!
REVIEWS
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CD Reviews
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Fall Out Boy. From Under The Cork Tree.
 Island Records. Running
time: 42:59
It is well over two years since Fall Out Boy’s debut offering, “Take
This
To Your Grave,” and it seems that time has been well spent, with the
Chicago-based 4-piece honing their sound into a potent blend of edgy rock and
sublime
3-minute pop. At first hearing Fall Out Boy might sound like just another
bunch of ‘young upstarts with guitars’ in the mould of Blink 182 or Wheatus. Yet
it quickly becomes clear that there is a clever humour at work here which
gives them the edge over most of bands ploughing the same musical furrow. I
mean,
any band that can write songs titled “I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy And
All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me” or “Our Lawyer Made Us
Change The Name Of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued” clearly has at least some
part of their tongues planted somewhere in the vicinity of their cheeks. Catchy,
eccentric and at the same time just a little intriguing,
Fall Out Boy are at
their best when they wander into pure pop country, as on the excellent
“Nobody Puts
Baby In The Corner” making many of their ‘skater boy’ contemporaries look
quite bland in comparison. It is no surprise that their New Year gig in
Portsmouth is already a sell-out, so look out for more upcoming dates soon.
CD Review by Martin Sirl.
State of Undress. Ghost of Wasted Chances.
 Rosebud.
Running time: 60:09
Those of us those who have the odd Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span
album tucked away in their album collections, no doubt carefully secreted under
plain brown cover, will surely already be aware of State Of Undress from their
appearances at the
Eastleigh Festival and Romsey’s Beggars Fair, not to mention the small matter
of a full ten years of gigging on the local folk circuit. “Ghosts Of Wasted
Chances” is a second admirable attempt by this hardworking band to transfer
their distinctive brand of folk/pop to the studio. The album, along with 2004’s
“Undressed,” clearly illustrates the performing and song writing talent of
founder members, Charlie and Alan Rose, which shines bright on songs like the
anti-war “Take Me To The Leader” and the live sing-along “This Time.” But
sadly it is a disappointing lack of imagination at the production stage which
lets this album down, leaving one so often with the feeling that good songs
could, with a little more care, have been made to sound like great songs. I
cannot help feeling that “Ghosts Of Wasted Chances” will go down as more of an
opportunity missed than the breakthrough State Of Undress no doubt deserve.
Check out the band’s forthcoming gigs to experience at them at their best.
CD Review by Martin Sirl.
Michael Weston King. Absent Friends.
 MWK 001.
Running time: 56:27
We reviewed Michael’s latest studio album last month, and this album includes
live versions of some of the same songs. Altogether there are 11 live
performances, 2 studio tracks and 4 previously unreleased songs. And I’m glad to
say that it’s a great album with atmospheric live versions of some of Michael’s
best songs like “Mother Tongue” and “Celestial City,” a spanking version of
“Teenage Kicks” and many more delights. If you’re a MWK fan you’ll love
it, if you have never heard of MWK but like honest melodical songs sung with
conviction, you will also love it.
Highly recommended.
Paul Camilleri. Another Sad Goodbye.
 Pepper Cake PEC2003-2. Running time: 67:51
Mixed and produced by Popa Chubby this album features Swiss-based British
guitarist and singer Paul Camilleri and also Popa himself on several tracks.
Basically guitar-led blues with occasional touches of funk, it’s good but never
quite takes off. Paul is an excellent guitarist, but not a particularly
distinctive singer, and that’s probably where this album falls down. Reminiscent
of
Clapton and Cray’s work on several tracks, it lacks genuine fire and passion,
only occasionally exciting, as on the instrumental “Mister PC” and the down
and dirty-style “Messin’ With My Heart.” But I would reserve judgement on
Paul’s talent - there are many more blues artists who are great live but fail to
impress on record, and Paul may very well fall into that category.
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