CD REVIEWS
Reviews by Jaime Pina
The Hypnotics -
The Expendables
Artfix Records
Vinyl Review by Jaime Pina
There is an odd history behind this record. And The Hypnotics are an odd band. Starting out as a punk band driven by a distorted keyboard pounding out chords alongside the guitar, they had a unique sound and great, catchy songs. Their first album, the cleverly titled “Indoor Fiends”, was released on Enigma Records and received some airplay on scattered college radio stations and KROQ. It was an impressive debut and the band seemed sure to follow up the record with another winner and grow a bigger audience. But some things happened. First of all Enigma was struggling despite some impressive and important releases.
“We were obligated to record a second record,” says former singer Marky De Sade. “I wanted to play out but our type of punk was over. The record label was being sued for the Dead Kennedys album and knew the end was near.” The band had recorded their second album and Enigma did not release it so the band went out and pressed anywhere between 100 to 500 discs with blank sleeves and sent a few out to radio stations that had supported them in the past. But people who listened to the record were in for a bit of a shock. Instead of the catchy, snotty punk rock of the first record the band had changed their sound significantly. Gone was the speed and the band had now adopted a more carnivalesque sound. It appeared the band had stopped drinking beer and snorting amphetamines and instead started dropping loads of LSD while listening The Doors.
“We were told I could not cuss on the record,” Marky exclaims. “Even on the song ‘Stolen Maserati’ I had to change ‘call his mother a whore’ to bore. Absolutely no Nazi references. I pissed them off with ‘Go See Cal’.”
The record ended up having a life of its own. The independently pressed copies began finding their way to the trader’s market and Grand Theft Audio released a CD with both the first record and the unreleased second album on one disc. Now Artfix Records has released the second album on vinyl and it is official.
The change in the band’s approach to this record is a bit jarring. The keyboards are more up front and are not joined at the hip with the guitar. The opening track, “Reach Out And Touch” has some interesting interplay between the keys and guitar. In a way the humor of the first record is still there but this song, about obscene phone calls, is much darker in its hilarity. You could say the band became better musicians and songwriters but there is something deeper going on here. It appears they were really trying to hit a nerve here by shedding their punk music past and going for the punk aesthetic by doing an about face and NOT giving their fanbase what was expected.
“I wanted to stay straight forward punk rock even though it was over,” Marky explains. “The guys wanted to go in a new direction. They were extremely talented musicians and it was just the natural progression.”
Songs like “Homosexual Homicide” and “Teacher” ooze with a dark cynicism that go beyond the whole punk thing both lyrically and musically. They are exercises in going places most people don’t want to go. That being said, there are fun songs like
“Watchtower” and “Jerry’s On Drugs” that will satisfy those looking for more of what went down on the first record. I still remember hearing “Jerry’s On Drugs” on KXLU and wondering what the fuck it was that I had just heard. But overall this record is a quantum leap over the first release. Dark, musically uncompromising and WEIRD, this is an infinitely interesting follow up from a band that could have stayed their course and gotten big. Instead they took a chance and disappeared into the ether. But they left behind two amazing records and that says a lot.
“After that record we all just went our separate ways…”
Tommy Bolin & Friends
Great Gypsy Soul
Purple Pyramid Records/Cleopatra
CD Review by Jaime Pina
This is a reissue of the 2012 release produced by guitarists Greg Hampton and Warren Haynes. The purpose of this record is to recycle alternate cuts and outtakes from various sessions Bolin had recorded and then released as the Teaser album. The master reels were acquired with the guests recording guitar solos or vocals on empty tracks with those then remixed into this product. While this may leave a bad taste in some fans mouths it is interesting if you enjoy guitar jams with guitar players who are talented and bring enthusiasm to the project.
The title is a little misleading as the “friends” recorded their parts long after Bolin’s death at 25. He was band mates in Deep Purple with Glenn Hughes who appears here on two tracks and may have met or crossed paths with others who also appear like Peter Frampton, Aerosmith’s Brad Whitford and Dixie Dregs guitarist Steve Morse (who later went on to play in Deep Purple himself). But others like John Bonamassa, Wilco’s Nels Cline and Myles Kennedy surely never met the man. That being said, some tracks like “The Grind” with Peter Frampton seem a tad intrusive while in others the layering sounds natural. Disc 1 contains most of the Teaser album with other songs not included in the original album. Disc 2 is the more interesting of the two in my opinion. This is what guitar fans are going to salivate over as it contains four versions of “Magic Powder” with fantastic guitar solos running wild. There is also a cut called “Flying Fingers” featuring Oz Noy and Nels Cline that is insane with scorching solo work. Not quite an essential Bolin release but check it out if you like Bolin’s playing and want to hear other talented guitarist jamming with his recordings.