REVIEW: The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

"Next... The Sensational Alex Harvey Band" is an edgy blues-powered album. With a mixture of genres, this album is sure to please anyone who was ever a fan of the early rock-and-roll songs of the 70's.

His Blues influence are dominant in the songs "Swamp Snake" and "Vambo Marble Eye", while songs like "Gang Bang" and "Giddyup a Ding Dong" provide comic relief with melodies that are reminscent of early Clash styles. "Faith Healer" is a seven minute-long song showing his true range of styles, while "Goodnight Irene" is an excellent rendition of the traditional song. "Say You're Mine" is a twangy country tune, while "Gamblin' Bar Room Blues" combines traditional blues influences with a Bob Dylan lyrical quality to the song.

This album must figure in any audiophile's collection. The version I have includes 5 bonus tracks, with over one hour of music.

Alex Harvey was born in Scotland in 1935, started playing trumpet professionally at the age of 19, and released his first single under the title Alex Harvey And His Soul Band in 1964. Since then, he has sung lead vocals and played both harmonica and guitar for over a dozen albums. Alex Harvey's tragic death in 1982 did not deter the band's cult status, as fans rallied together to support the remaining band members. His last written album, Solider On The Wall is released posthumously.

Krugle, Krugle, wherefore art thou ?

Looks like beta testing in the Krugle environment will have to wait a while, unless by some pure luck they get around to creating my account today. This is from an e-mail message I received today:

We started the beta last week with the first 1,000 testers. So far, it's looking good. Those of you in the 34,000 left will begin getting login credentials (in the order you signed up) beginning April 5. We hope to get the lot of you in the test before April 14 or so, assuming nothing really unexpectedly bad happens.

Please stand by...

REVIEW: Curtain Call - The Hits (by Eminem)

I’ve never been a fan of rap, and Eminem is certainly no exception. Any form of entertainment that permeates misogyny and the stereotypical image of teenage angst is not my idea of a good time. There is enough of this kind of crap on TV and being played on the radio, and unfortunately, Curtain Call - The Hits by Eminem is no exception.

By producing a CD with all of his famous (and not-so-famous) hits, Eminem is able to secure himself another few years of royalties before his rap career goes down the toilet. Finding a CD with 17 tracks these days is rare enough, but finding one with as many bad tracks is even worse.

The album starts on a very condescending tone, with Eminem telling everyone to SHUT UP while he tells his story. His story apparently starts with the song "Fack" (yes, you read it right), thereby proving that any teenage white rapper does not need sex-ed. We all know what word means, and we really don’t need Slim Shady to explain to us in full detail what he would like to do with a gerbil.

The album is followed up by an introduction to Eminem’s Slim Shady character in three songs. “My name Is” first introduces the character, “Without Me” is an egotistical attempt at keeping Slim alive, and “The Real Slim Shady” allows us to explore a new facet into Eminem’s life, “Multiple Annoying Personality Disorder”. After all, how many introductions does this guy need?

Some of his more recent songs are also on this album, which is a definite change of pace from his earlier writings. For example, songs like “Lose Yourself” and “Sing For The Moment” send a mostly positive message of working hard to accomplish anything you set yourself to do.

Luckily, the album is not a total loss, and neither is the lyrical content, at least in some of the songs. The gripping song “Stan” tells the dramatic story of a fan who is so upset by Eminem’s lack of interest in his life that he ends up killing both himself and his pregnant wife, and blaming it on the clueless rapper. With Dido making her first break-though debut in North America, this song is definitely worth mentioning. The lyrics are well written, the rap is done well, and provides a shocking reaction at the end of the song.

The album also features a rendition of “Stan” with gay rocker Elton John. This is a surprising combination, but the two musicians appear to work well in this live version of this song.

All other songs on this album appear to be lost in the magnitude of the hits surrounding them. You know it’s time to call your career a wrap when you have difficulty finding 17 good songs to put in your Greatest Hits package.

Inventions that shouldn't exist

What happens when you file a patent for a fish bath or a boatless water ski, and realize that the product you just spend half your life inventing is actually useless ? It ends up in the never-ending archive of the Totally Absurd Inventions & Patents. This site of real inventions has such ridiculous ideas as a Fowl Spoon and Pogo Shoes.

Krugle Beta Demonstration

After only one day of being accepted into Google's Page Creator Beta program, I have also been accepted into the Krugle Beta Program. In short, this is a revolutionary search engine for developpers. For now, the only available feature is a short demonstration on how Krugle can interface directly with your GUI. The beta program begins tomorrow, Wednesday, April 5, 2006. I will give you an update at that time.