Scott “Wino”
Weinrich, vocalist/guitar player for the now defunct Spirit Caravan, is
something of a godfather to the doom and stoner rock scenes. Back in the
eighties when everyone else was playing glam or thrash, Wino was dooming it up
with The Obsessed and Saint Vitus. In stoner/doom rock’s heyday, the mid
nineties, Wino put out several albums with this band, Spirit Caravan. Sadly,
success continued to elude him, but as this compilation attests, it wasn’t due
to lack of quality material. While this two disc set doesn’t contain quite
everything the band ever recorded, it’s pretty close. The riffs are killer, and
Wino’s soulful, melodic vocals are among the best in the genre. There’s a few
upbeat numbers like the punky “Kill Ugly Naked”, but the majority of the
material here falls into the mid-tempo doom territory. That means that
listening to both discs all the way through in one sitting can get a bit
monotonous unless you’re really a fan of the style. That said, if doomy sludge
rock is your thing, very few bands ever did it as good as Spirit Caravan. If
you’re already a fan and have all the band’s past releases, you’ll still
probably want to pick this up. Some songs are alternate versions, and there are
a few previously unreleased tracks as well. (Bob Ignizio)
When I
first heard The Spits I was blown away; super simple snotty punk-rock with song
titles like “I H8 Pussies”. Their second LP (all 3 full-lengths are simply
self-titled) was even better, maintaining the simplicity and stupidity with
better production and a more new wave/Devo influence on some tracks. One the
best LPs of 2002. The Spits are back with a new full-length and carry on the
style of their second LP. While it easily blows away 99% of modern punk rock,
I’m still slightly disappointed. There are no bad songs to be found here, but
things don’t really get exciting until the second side where you’ll find tracks
like “Don’t Shoot” and “Greyhound Bound”. Most of side one, while good, just
isn’t as catchy as their best stuff. Not nearly as many standout lyrics as
previous LPs either, which all featured some brilliant but stupid lines. Still
though, a Spits LP with a few really great tunes and a lot of good ones is worth
owning. Just pick up the earlier stuff first if you haven’t already. Vinyl
version features an extra track and a poster. (http://www.dirtnaprecs.com
http://www.thespits.com ) (Russ Romance)
Street
Trash combines the over-the-top vocal styling of recent ’77 punk revivalists
such as Le Shok and The Stitches with a musical assault reminiscent of early 80s
US hardcore like Septic Death and Void. Pretty cool combination that makes this
guys stand out a bit among the many bands trying to recreate classic HC bands
from the 80s. Lyrics are pretty cool as well, ranging from a celebration of
heroin addiction on “The Junk”, a child molestation turned to revenge tale on
“Katie’s Hole”, a rough critique on fashion-punkers called “Fashion For
Rebellion”, and of course the band’s signature song “Street Trash” warning
listeners about the dangers of $1 bottles of Viper Wine (as seen in the 80s
movie of the same name). 7 songs in all – 5 of them from their debut 6-song 7”
(already out of print) on one side of a 12”, cool silkscreened art on the other
side. Only 500 made, so this sounds interesting to you , hurry up, or you’ll
have to settle for the CD version. (Russ Romance)
What
can I say? The Cleveland area has some outstanding jazz fusion musicians - Rare
Blend, Joe Denizon, Rick Piunno, etc., - and now heads up to SyzygY. This
3-piece from Mentor, Ohio are right up there with Liquid Tension Experiment!!
The musicianship, the songwriting…honestly, this is one of the most incredible
releases I've ever heard. There is no track skipping on this baby. Even the
few songs with vocals are top notch, and vocals always ruin jazz fusion for me.
Not in this case. T hese guys do it well. I guess you could say they're like
King Crimson on an overdose of Planet X or, the other way around. Masterpiece
arrangements like "M.O.T.H.", "Lightspeed", and "Forbidden" literally baffle my
mind by the talent and time it must have taken to write these songs. Paul, Carl,
and Sam really deserve an award for an outstanding effort. What makes me sick
is that talentless cornballs like Blink 182 get all kinds of money they don't
deserve while real musicians like Syzygy might never even make a fraction of
that. What a shame! The songs are metallish-heavy with many mood changes. So
far this is the best release of 2004. Contact them at: P.O. BOX 5082, Mentor,
Ohio 44061, and tell them Utter Trash sent ya. (Mike Salamone)
Scott “Wino”
Weinrich, vocalist/guitar player for the now defunct Spirit Caravan, is
something of a godfather to the doom and stoner rock scenes. Back in the
eighties when everyone else was playing glam or thrash, Wino was dooming it up
with The Obsessed and Saint Vitus. In stoner/doom rock’s heyday, the mid
nineties, Wino put out several albums with this band, Spirit Caravan. Sadly,
success continued to elude him, but as this compilation attests, it wasn’t due
to lack of quality material. While this two disc set doesn’t contain quite
everything the band ever recorded, it’s pretty close. The riffs are killer, and
Wino’s soulful, melodic vocals are among the best in the genre. There’s a few
upbeat numbers like the punky “Kill Ugly Naked”, but the majority of the
material here falls into the mid-tempo doom territory. That means that
listening to both discs all the way through in one sitting can get a bit
monotonous unless you’re really a fan of the style. That said, if doomy sludge
rock is your thing, very few bands ever did it as good as Spirit Caravan. If
you’re already a fan and have all the band’s past releases, you’ll still
probably want to pick this up. Some songs are alternate versions, and there are
a few previously unreleased tracks as well. (Bob Ignizio)
When I
first heard The Spits I was blown away; super simple snotty punk-rock with song
titles like “I H8 Pussies”. Their second LP (all 3 full-lengths are simply
self-titled) was even better, maintaining the simplicity and stupidity with
better production and a more new wave/Devo influence on some tracks. One the
best LPs of 2002. The Spits are back with a new full-length and carry on the
style of their second LP. While it easily blows away 99% of modern punk rock,
I’m still slightly disappointed. There are no bad songs to be found here, but
things don’t really get exciting until the second side where you’ll find tracks
like “Don’t Shoot” and “Greyhound Bound”. Most of side one, while good, just
isn’t as catchy as their best stuff. Not nearly as many standout lyrics as
previous LPs either, which all featured some brilliant but stupid lines. Still
though, a Spits LP with a few really great tunes and a lot of good ones is worth
owning. Just pick up the earlier stuff first if you haven’t already. Vinyl
version features an extra track and a poster. (
Street
Trash combines the over-the-top vocal styling of recent ’77 punk revivalists
such as Le Shok and The Stitches with a musical assault reminiscent of early 80s
US hardcore like Septic Death and Void. Pretty cool combination that makes this
guys stand out a bit among the many bands trying to recreate classic HC bands
from the 80s. Lyrics are pretty cool as well, ranging from a celebration of
heroin addiction on “The Junk”, a child molestation turned to revenge tale on
“Katie’s Hole”, a rough critique on fashion-punkers called “Fashion For
Rebellion”, and of course the band’s signature song “Street Trash” warning
listeners about the dangers of $1 bottles of Viper Wine (as seen in the 80s
movie of the same name). 7 songs in all – 5 of them from their debut 6-song 7”
(already out of print) on one side of a 12”, cool silkscreened art on the other
side. Only 500 made, so this sounds interesting to you , hurry up, or you’ll
have to settle for the CD version. (Russ Romance)
What
can I say? The Cleveland area has some outstanding jazz fusion musicians - Rare
Blend, Joe Denizon, Rick Piunno, etc., - and now heads up to SyzygY. This
3-piece from Mentor, Ohio are right up there with Liquid Tension Experiment!!
The musicianship, the songwriting…honestly, this is one of the most incredible
releases I've ever heard. There is no track skipping on this baby. Even the
few songs with vocals are top notch, and vocals always ruin jazz fusion for me.
Not in this case. T hese guys do it well. I guess you could say they're like
King Crimson on an overdose of Planet X or, the other way around. Masterpiece
arrangements like "M.O.T.H.", "Lightspeed", and "Forbidden" literally baffle my
mind by the talent and time it must have taken to write these songs. Paul, Carl,
and Sam really deserve an award for an outstanding effort. What makes me sick
is that talentless cornballs like Blink 182 get all kinds of money they don't
deserve while real musicians like Syzygy might never even make a fraction of
that. What a shame! The songs are metallish-heavy with many mood changes. So
far this is the best release of 2004. Contact them at: P.O. BOX 5082, Mentor,
Ohio 44061, and tell them Utter Trash sent ya. (Mike Salamone) 