[Jim Price]

FINAL CUT CD REVIEWS & CHICANERY: NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2004

Before getting into some CD reviews, a few random thoughts and soapboxes…

FIRST, SOME YULETIDE SOAPBOXIN’

HAPPY CHRISTMAS & MERRY HOLIDAYS!

Happy Holidays! Have a happy holiday season!

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

Isn’t it interesting how such well-meaning sentiments can stir up controversy this time of year? But yes, they do.

In our politically correct society these days, some non-Christians, atheists and non-believers get themselves into a royal hissy fit if you wish them a “Merry Christmas.” For the sake of political correctness and out of fear of offending somebody, many people, press, media and even government entities now express the sentiment “Have a happy holiday season” or “Happy holidays” instead.

This has triggered a backlash. Many Christians are now throwing a fit and taking offense to anybody who wishes them “Happy holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” They argue that Christ and Christmas are the “reason for the season” to begin with; thus they insist that “Merry Christmas” and “Happy New Year” are the proper sentiments this time of year.

Guess what? I use BOTH. And I don’t give much thought to – or apologize for – using either one. For me, it’s usually a matter of (A) how somebody greets me first, and/or (B) which greeting pops into my cranium first. Yes, as a believer myself, I recognize and agree that Christ’s birth is the “reason for the season.” But I also realize that there are other holidays celebrated this time of year, too; thus, the designation “holiday season.” So for me, it’s cool if you tell me “Merry Christmas,” “Happy New Year,” or “Happy Holidays.” And likewise, I’m not going to expend a bunch of brain energy deciding which greeting to use when I address somebody. For me, it’s ALL good. And if you get in my face about what greeting I choose to use, you’re likely to hear another greeting from me, and it probably won’t be quite as pleasant!

Suggestion: If you take offense when somebody wishes you a “Merry Christmas” this time of year, try growing some thicker skin and wearing a looser pair of shorts in the morning. And if you take offense when somebody wishes you “Happy Holidays,” you too should grow some thicker skin and switch to a bigger size of underwear in the morning. It will make you less irritable, so you’re not jumping into people’s faces over such trivial bulls**t when they’re extending warm sentiments and greetings towards you this time of year!

Bottom line – before you jump down somebody’s throat about what greeting they use this yuletide season, remember that adage about “peace and goodwill towards men;” and appreciate the fact that somebody is extending pleasantries to you, rather than hostilities.

And by the way…Happy Christmas and Merry Holidays! And have a Cool Yule, too!

CELEBRITY AND INSANITY

Like everybody else who follows heavy metal music, I too was shocked and saddened by the Columbus, Ohio nightclub shooting incident on Dec. 8 that killed Damageplan and former Pantera guitarist “Dimebag Darrell” Abbott and four others. As others have stated, Dimebag Darrell and Pantera changed the sound and parameters of heavy metal in the late 80’s and 90’s, and helped pave the way for a lot of the metal music we hear today. And Darrell and Pantera no doubt inspired a lot of young rockers to first pick up guitars and enter the world of music.

Among other things, this incident was another sad statement about the age we live in, as it pertains to the relationships between celebrities and fans. Any time somebody’s profile elevates to “celebrity” status – whether in entertainment, sports, politics or other endeavor – it not only potentially expands that person’s popularity and fan base, but also potentially brings the nutcases out of the woodwork. How many times in the current headlines do we hear about celebrity stalkings, fans jumping onto a field of play in sports to confront athletes, and other such incidents? And in extreme cases, you get situations like the murders of Dimebag Darrell, John Lennon and Selena, the stabbings of George Harrison and Monica Seles, and other violent results of fan obsession going too far.

Even radio deejays like myself are susceptible to such incidents. In 1984, controversial Denver radio talk show host Alan Berg was machine-gunned in the driveway of his townhouse. The perpetrators were three members of ‘The Order,’ a white supremacist group enraged by Berg’s on-air comments against racism.

I myself even had an experience with an obsessed admirer-turned-stalker in the 80’s. One realization I have learned over my 20 years in the radio business is that you just never know who might be listening in to you on the air, and you never know how something you say into the radio microphone might impact somebody. This is one reason why many radio personalities – myself included – use nicknames and on-air aliases; because there is that small percentage of individuals out there that could react adversely to something they hear on the air, and end up doing something irrational and regrettable.

Obviously, musicians run that same risk of the celebrity-fan relationship gone awry. Dimebag Darrell. John Lennon. Selena. George Harrison. The recent news story about Sheryl Crow and her stalker. Even on the local scale, there are incidents of obsessed fans hounding performers; jealous boyfriends or girlfriends whose mates take more interest in a band’s lead singer; drunken wackos and more.

Bottom line – any person who becomes elevated into the public spotlight and exposed to a volume of people can become the target of somebody’s irrational intentions.

There is no real answer to this situation. Some people expressed that increased security or metal detectors could have prevented the Dimebag Darrell tragedy. Perhaps so. But if somebody is obsessed enough to want to carry out such an act, they will try to find ways around such precautions.

In the long term, the Dimebag Darrell shooting may result in a few more metal detectors being installed at the doors of venues and nightclubs. And sadly, the incident may ultimately throw more wrenches into celebrity-fan relationships in the long term; making performers and celebrities all the more wary of who is approaching them, and the possible intentions of those who do.

SPINNING THE SPIN DOCTORS

As any fan of talk radio can attest, the day after a presidential election is one of the most interesting days to be listening to the radio, as various talk show hosts, listeners and other spin doctors analyze and interpret the election results. As I normally do when I’m running Pennsylvania Musician deliveries, I had one of the local talk radio stations tuned in to hear everybody spinning the election; analyzing why George W. Bush won his second term in office, and why John Kerry didn’t win.

On the local morning talk programs, the analysis was that morality and family values were the reason Bush won re-election. The show hosts conjectured that the churches motivated their flocks to go to the polls and vote for the pro-life candidate, and against the candidate aligned with abortion and gay marriage rights.

This was also part of the spin offered on the Michael Savage show later that evening. Savage was a little more “savage” in his views, isolating the gay marriage issue as the one that brought a lot of conservatives out to the polls. Savage openly gloated that he was the only person in radio, and perhaps all media, to not only predict Bush’s victory three weeks before the election, but to also call the margin of victory. Savage suggested that the entire day’s results were a clear mandate to the Republicans, and that he felt the Republican party owed him and other conservative Americans several things over the next four years, such as closing our borders with Mexico, legislation defending marriage and English as our sole language, and bombing Fallujah in Iraq.

On the other side of the fence, Allan Colmes and his guests offered spins on why Kerry lost. Former presidential candidate George McGovern offered that Kerry focused on the wrong issues, and said he should have concentrated less on terrorism and more on social problems. Another guest (whose name I didn’t catch, an advisor for the Democratic party) angrily ranted that special interests and big money have steered the Democratic Party away from what made them endearing to Americans to begin with, and that the Demos have to find their focus and get back to basics before the 2008 election.

As for me, I’m not really surprised that President Bush won re-election. History shows that Americans generally don’t like to change horses in mid-stream, especially in times of war and crisis. In the middle of the Iraq campaign, whether we should be there or not, I think a lot of Americans felt safer sticking with the current leadership and following through on what we started.

NOW, SOME CD REVIEWS…

FIRST, SOME CHRISTMAS CD’S:

(VARIOUS ARTISTS) – THE CENTRAL-PA CHRISTMAS COMPILATION (Susquehanna Entertainment) A new regional Christmas music album this holiday season is The Central-PA Christmas Music Compilation, issued by Susquehanna Entertainment. The album features fifteen tracks from various Pennsylvania bands and artists, including redone holiday favorites and original Christmas compositions. The album offers a lively mixed bag of sounds, spanning rock to blues to country/bluegrass to traditional. Fans of blues and blues-geared rock will find several reasons to celebrate here; including the Martini Bros.’ hearty blues/roots rock-geared treatment of Lieber and Stoller’s “Santa Claus Is Back in Town,” which opens the album. For a more traditional blues flavor, Bethlehem’s Thom Palmer Band offers a soulful, upbeat read to Mark Baldwin’s “Christmas Blues.” And Middletown singer/songwriter Sherri Mullen packs ample soul and emotion into her version of Charles Brown’s Christmas blues standard “Please Come Home for Christmas.” Several well-known regional rock acts contribute songs to the album. Popular comic rockers Emily’s Toybox offers one of the album’s biggest surprises with their read of “O Holy Night,” which gearshifts from a softspoken, slow introduction into a galloping punk/ska-driven romp. Lancaster-based Negative Space contributes an original song, “I’ll Be Home,” written about a serviceman’s anticipated return home for the holidays. Harrisburg’s Jellybricks give a crisp update of the Kinks’ “Father Christmas.” And the Berwick’s Poptart Monkeys perform a lighthearted version of “Mele Kalikimaka,” a Hawaiian Christmas song popularized by Bing Crosby and Don Ho. For a more whimsical flavor, Wilkes-Barre-based rock band Plus 3 interprets “The Chipmunk Song,” and State College favorite J.R. Mangan gives a convincingly condescending performance of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.” Country fans will relish two contributions here; including Williamsport’s The Corral and their driving version of Daron Norwood’s “Working Elf Blues,” and the Patsy Cline-like interpretation of “Blue Christmas offered by Hershey songstress Darcie Miner, backed by Sweet Pea Felty (the current band of former Badlees singer/guitarist Jeff Feltenberger). Harrisburg’s Flint gives a solemn read to “Angels We Have Heard on High;” Bobby & John Tombasco (current members of Jay Black & the Americans) offer a warm performance of their ballad “Next Christmas Day;” and the Lykens Valley Bluegrass Boys pick and grin the album to its close with Tex Logan’s “Christmas Time’s A-Coming.” Eleven of the songs were recorded at Scott Wray Studios in New Cumberland. Mostly produced and compiled by Jeff Feltenberger, The Central-PA Christmas Compilation sounds crisp, warm and bright. The performances are warm and friendly, each in their own unique voice and manner. The album flows comfortably, with the songs and styles nicely arranged on the disc to keep the mix fresh and moving. The Central-PA Christmas Compilation is a glowing collection of holiday songs that showcases a wide variety of Pennsylvania talent, each expressing the happiness and charm of the Christmas holiday season in their own distinct way. (The album can be purchased at area Kmart and Walmart locations, or by visiting the website www.susent.com.)

(VARIOUS ARTISTS) – LORDS A LEAPING VOLUME II (no label) Two years ago, several musicians from Centre and Clearfield Counties collaborated on a Christmas project called Lords a Leaping, with the idea of creating Christmas songs that might someday become part of the catalog of songs we hear every holiday season. The group recorded the first Lords a Leaping album, and quickly sold out of the 600 copies they produced. That success, combined with more inspiration and ideas to create Christmas music, brought these musicians back together for a sequel. Lords a Leaping Volume II features a dozen songs, including ten original Christmas compositions and two interpretations of Christmas favorites. Like the first album, this album also features a wide variety of musical styles, spanning traditional to big band jazz to rock, folk and more. Seven of the songs are written by Loudmouth singer/bassist John Cimino, who also sings, plays bass and guitar. Among John's contributions are the tender and reminiscent "That Christmas Feeling" and "Magical," both sung by Jennifer Bell; "Child of Mary" with its varying textures to depict the stages of Christ's life; "Santa Boogie" with its big band, Andrews Sisters feel; an English-flavored sea carol, "Sailing Home;" the garage-rocking "Christmas Is Near;" and the hopeful album closer "All Things Great and Small," featuring backing vocals from the New Life Tabernacle Choir from Greensburg. Dive singer/guitarist Adam Bell contributes two songs, the uplifting love song "Reconcile" and the ballad "A Christmas to Remember." Acoustic roots music duo Blind Jonny Death also contribute a song, the folksy "The Greatest Gift." Also included are two established holiday favorites, a piano jazz-flavored rendition of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," and an atmospheric rock update of "God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen." Recorded this past October at Philipsburg-Osceola Area Junior High School; and recorded, mixed and mastered by John Wagoner, Lords a Leaping Volume II is another stellar effort. The vocal performances sound hearfelt and inspired, and shine throughout the album. The instrumentation is well coordinated, from John Wagoner's and Adam Bell's electric and acoustic guitar flavors to Brett Albert's warm piano sound, Kevin Roessner's tasteful trumpet and Michael Hughes' varying drum textures. John Wagoner's arrangements masterfully conjure the perfect mood and effect on each song, from the Charlie Brown Christmas-like feeling of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" to the escalating arrangement of "God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen." Lords a Leaping Volume II picks up where the first Lords a Leaping left off two years ago, and the result is another fine set of fresh-sounding holiday music to trim the tree to. If this ensemble of local musicians continue to create Christmas music as appealing and compelling as these first two albums, it might be only a matter of time before Lords a Leaping is spoken in the same breath as present-day Christmas music icons like Mannheim Steamroller and Trans Siberian Orchestra. Lords a Leaping Volume II is that good. (The album can be purchased at select stores in Clearfield and Centre Counties.)

HEART – HEART PRESENTS A LOVEMONGERS' CHRISTMAS (Sovereign Artists) The Lovemongers, sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson's acoustic project while Heart was on the backburner in the 1990's, first issued the holiday album Christmas Is in 1998. The album was repackaged and re-released in 2001 under the title Heart Presents A Lovemongers' Christmas. For this holiday season, Heart Presents A Lovemongers' Christmas has again been repackaged and reissued, with two new songs added to expand the collection to a dozen. The Wilson sisters, keyboardist Sue Ennis, guitarist Frank Cox and percussionist Ben Smith explore acoustic, lighter and gentler musical terrain on the album's six original compositions and six holiday remakes, dabbling in several uncharacteristic styles. One of the original songs, "Christmas Waits," demonstrates a pop style and production reminiscent of The Fifth Dimension. The group demonstrates their choral abilities on the 16th century Scottish carol "Balulalow" and an a cappella rendition of "Oh Holy Night." Ann Wilson sings lounge-flavored piano jazz on one of the new additions, "Let's Stay In." The other new song, a remake of Patty Griffin's "Mary," offers acoustic folk gently flavored with mandolin and conga. Other songs range from more traditional-sounding Christmas music interpretations such as the voice-and-harp rendition of Franz Schubert's "Ave Maria;" to the glossier mainstream pop of "How Beautiful," "William and Rose" and the Frank Cox-sung "The Last Noel." In all, Heart Presents a Lovemongers' Christmas is a steady and consistent set that maintains its gentle and warm touch from start to finish. Its two new song additions make this issue the most worthwhile packaging of the album to date. Fans of Ann and Nancy Wilson's lighter musical moods will best appreciate this album, a suitable soundtrack for cozy gatherings and hot cocoa around the fireplace or Christmas tree.

NOW, SOME RANDOM NATIONAL AND LOCAL CD’S:

U2 – HOW TO DISMANTLE AN ATOMIC BOMB (Universal) It seems that ever since U2’s self-indulgent techno album misstep, 1997’s Pop, the group has been seeking redemption. The group’s 2000 album, All That You Can’t Leave Behind, returned the group’s emphasis to songcraft and substance. Their latest album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, further strips away the group’s sound to its basic essence; with The Edge’s guitar providing its sharpest voice in years, and the group displaying more of the fire reminiscent of their early work. At their best here, U2 sounds edgy and hungry once again, evidenced from the start with the driving, garage-flavored opener “Vertigo.” Other highlights include the weighty and soulful shuffle “Love and Peace Or Else,” the uplifting “Miracle Drug” and “City of Blinding Lights,” the hard-rocking “All Because of You” and the soaring and powerful “Crumbs on the Table.” Lyrically, Bono abandons the big sociopolitical messages of U2’s legendary earlier work in favor of more personal and spiritual topics. The sullen “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own” and “One Step Closer” both surround the passing of Bono’s father; while the pseudo-lullaby “Original of the Species” addresses birth. Bono and U2 include the obligatory ode to God, concluding the album with the spiritual conversation “Yahweh.” While U2 strips down their sound on Atomic Bomb, producer Steve Lillywhite preserves the fullness of traditional U2 by giving width to Adam Clayton’s bass and sharpness and ring to The Edge’s trademark guitar jangle. Even the album’s slower moments are lifted up by the crispness and consistency of the overall production. In the end, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb offers the further dismantling of the more indulgent, extravagant U2 of the 90’s back to the stripped-down, rawer essence of the group’s peak 80’s work. U2 purists should find this album a welcome return to form, even if it doesn’t take as many lyrical risks as U2 of old.

ROLLING STONES – LIVE LICKS (EMI) At this stage of the game, some people might ask, "Does the world really need another Rolling Stones live album?" The answer ultimately offered by the Stones' new double-disc live set, Live Licks, is "yes." What separates this live set from previous Stones live albums (by this writer's count, eight) is that Live Licks is more about the music, not the show. Culled from their 14-month "Licks" world tour in 2002-03, Live Licks combines live performances from three separate settings throughout this tour: clubs, arenas and stadiums. Disc One features new live versions of the group's best-known canons. Highlights here include feisty and forceful reads of "Brown Sugar," "Street Fighting Man," "It's Only Rock n'Roll" "Happy" and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction;" the full-blown, gospel-edged treatment of "You Can't Always Get What You Want;" and Mick Jagger's and guest Sheryl Crow's co-ed performance of "Honky Tonk Women." Disc Two focuses more on performances of Stones deep cuts, remakes, and songs not often performed on tour. Most noteworthy are renditions of "Monkey Man" and "Rocks Off," Keith Richards crooning Hoagie Carmichael's "The Nearness of You;" a never-before recorded live rendition of "Beast of Burden;" Jagger's excited falsetto on the soulful "Worried About You;" and guest Solomon Burke joining the group on Burke's glorious finale, "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love." While most previous Rolling Stones live albums were more content to capture the group's glitter and glam rather than showcase the group's musicality, Live Licks shows what this band is capable of when they are at the top of their game. Richards' guitar playing sounds acidic and hungry; Charlie Watts' drumbeats are driving and excited (check out how monstrous his beats sound at the end of "Street Fighting Man"); and Jagger's voice is front, center and in your face. The sound mix is sharp and clean; perhaps the best sound of any Rolling Stones live album. Most of all, the Rolling Stones and their cast of sidemen and guests sound like they had genuine fun during this tour, and the songs were played with fire and enthusiasm. These inspired performances refresh the song material and give these time-tested classics new life and urgency. Live Licks captures the Rolling Stones' live performance magic in a manner no Stones live album has since 1970's Get Your Ya-Ya's Out!; any serious Stones fan should invest in a copy.

GEORGE THOROGOOD AND THE DESTROYERS – 30TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR: LIVE (Eagle Records) For thirty years, George Thorogood and the Destroyers have carved their niche in music history with their consistent brand of boisterous, bare-bones blues-rock. The group commemorates their 30-year milestone with 30th Anniversary Tour: Live, capturing a special performance on May 4 of this year at Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham, England. The album finds Thorogood and his bandmates confidently doing what they do best, passionately pounding out rough-and-tumble blues and rock to a receptive and appreciative audience. Many of Thorogood's established showstoppers are here, including "I Drink Alone," "Bad to the Bone," Ellas McDaniel's "Who Do You Love," and John Lee Hooker's "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer." Thorogood also performs several numbers from his 2003 studio album Ride 'Til I Die, such as "Sweet Little Lady," Elvin Bishop's "Don't Let The Bossman Get You Down," Eddie Shaw's "Greedy Man," Tom Hambridge/Richard Fleming's "The Fixer" and Nick Lowe's "That's It, I Quit." As with previous Thorogood live albums, 30th Anniversary Tour: Live again shows that this performer and his band are most at home onstage and playing to their fans. Thorogood himself sounds appropriately rowdy and spirited on both voice and guitar, feeding off the English audience's interaction and applause. His Destroyers demonstrate instrumental tightness, plus a style and flare that doesn't always come through in the more sterile studio setting. Listeners can hear spontaneous ad-libbing from bassist Bill Blough and guitarist Jim Suhler, and frequent and fiery saxophone wailing from Buddy Leach. 30th Anniversary Tour: Live serves as a strong performance document of George Thorogood and his current band of Destroyers. And it also celebrates the 30-year tradition of an artist who has stuck to his guns and performed the roots music he's admired since day one; attacking the material here with the same zest and enthusiasm he did three decades ago.

NAKED BEGGARS – NAKED BEGGARS (SMA Records) The Naked Beggars were first formed in Nashville a few years ago by singer Inga Brittingham and guitarist Kris Casamento. This past spring, the group added Brittingham's husband, bassist Eric Brittingham, and guitarist Jeff LaBar – both alumni of prominent 80's rockers Cinderella. Naked Beggars' self-titled debut album offers a mixed bag of flavors through ten songs, rooted in a hard-edged rock and blues foundation. While occasional vestiges of bassist Brittingham's more famous band can be detected on the album, Naked Beggars is clearly singer Brittingham's vehicle. Her volatile, sassy and rangeful delivery provides the signature to the group's sound; while her bold, edgy lyrics align her with rock’s more outspoken women like Alanis Morisette and Chrissie Hynde. The songs themselves range from driving, defiant rockers like “No More” and the album’s first single, “Bitch” (featuring LaBar’s lone performance on the album); to swaggering, funk-driven numbers like “Wake Me,” “Wastin’ Time” and the Aerosmith-styled sass of “Crazy;” to thoughtful, blues-geared slower tunes like “Open Eyes” and “Discombobulated.” Naked Beggars demonstrates a more sophisticated melody on the heavier rocker “Fallen,” a samba flavor on “Got Me Runnin,’” and a faster, punkish rant on “Kind Of Girl.” Produced, engineered, mixed and arranged by Eric Brittingham, Naked Beggars sounds lean, sharp and direct; enabling the bare essence of the group’s music to stand front and center. The result is a basic, bold debut album that doesn’t mince words or sound. Naked Beggars is consistent meat-and-potatoes rock with just the right touch of attitude and edge. (To obtain the album, visit their website, www.nakedbeggars.net.)

SEVER – SEVER (no label) DuBois-based heavy metal foursome Sever first formed in summer of 2003. Their self-titled debut album introduces listeners to Sever’s brutal musical terrain, defined by the snarling guitars of Rich Emery, the pulverizing rhythms of drummer Paul Butler, the driving bass work of Jason Geer, and the enraged vocal bark of frontman Dave Harris. With Pantera as a reference point, Sever explores aggressive and dark sonic textures over the album’s nine tracks. For fans of straight ahead metallic aggression, Sever offers immediate gratification on the opener “Nothing,” “Fall Away,” “Torment” and “Gag Reflexx.” The group digs deeper both musically and lyrically on the album’s remaining tracks, implementing alluring chord and tempo shifts, shadowy guitar textures, and lyrics examining the thresholds between good and evil, heaven and hell, and sanity and madness. The strongest of these are “Empty Place,” depicting a soul’s arrival in Hell; and the dual-tempo “Presence,” exploring the fine line between innocence and guilt. The band’s performances are tight, focused and together; setting the appropriate hard-hitting backdrop for Harris’ vocal presentation, which varies from subdued introspection to anguished howls and defiant aggression. Sever’s overall production is slightly thin and sterile; a stronger bass presence and clearer backing vocals would have improved the final result here. But ultimately, Sever defines their angry and harsh musical terrain on their self-titled debut, a solid set should please fans of brutal metal aggression. (To obtain the CD, visit Sever’s website at www.2sever.com.)

J.D. STRUM – JUST ANOTHER STORY (no label) Singer/guitarist Jeff Marks and guitarist/singer Drew Bentley first formed J.D. Strum four years ago, when Bentley accompanied Marks to perform at the 2000 Millenium Music Conference in Harrisburg. Since then, J.D. Strum has been performing in and around their native Pittsburgh area, and issued their debut CD, Just Another Story, this past spring. J.D. Strum defines their collective sound over Just Another Story's thirteen tracks as a mix of acoustic and electric rock and roll, with an emphasis on catchy melodies, crisp vocal harmonies and warm, easy-to-digest lyrics. A number of songs deal with relationship ups and downs; the upbeat "The Way She Walks," "Everything" and "Crazy Crazy Way" are happier in tone, expressing fascination and wonder about the opposite sex. On the other side of the coin, the stern, harder-edged rocker "The Drag" lashes out at mind games and deception; "Heart To Pen" pleads for more time to make things work; and "It's All Good" chalks up an ended relationship to life experience. The introspective opener "Still Chasing" examines personal drive and ambition, and the edgy "On And On" explores the music career dream. The group also includes one remake, an acoustic folk treatment of Madonna's "Borderline." The performances are tasteful, with Marks' calm, mildly soulful vocal delivery coming through warm and clear; supported by Bentley's jazz-flavored guitar licks and occasional sterner riffing. Assisting the duo are bassist Harry Carr, drummer Michael Shearer and percussionist Frank Bastone. Just Another Story introduces J.D. Strum as a straightforward, song-oriented group with a knack for catchy melodies and thoughtful, insightful lyrics. This is a pleasant, satisfying album likely to appeal to a wide range of listening tastes; for good songs and straight-ahead rock'n'roll, this is an album definitely worth checking out. (To obtain this album, visit J.D. Strum's website at www.jdstrum.com.)

PORK McELHINNY – THE BOY IN THE MAN (Arachnid Records) Singing and playing guitar since age 3, Brookville singer, songwriter and guitarist George “Pork” McElhinny previously graced western Pennsylvania live stages as a member of the regional bands Code Blue, Denny & the Twisters and 4 On The Floor. Now a solo performer, McElhinny has issued his debut album, The Boy in the Man. Through the album’s ten tracks, listeners are introduced to Pork’s easy-going blend of acoustic-geared rock, folk, country and blues. Besides singing, Pork also plays all guitars, bass and drums, with occasional assistance from drummer/percussionist Dave Foote and rhythm guitarist John McNeil. The songs are simple, thoughtful odes to life, the road, growing up, changing times and more. On the opening title track, “The Boy in the Man,” Pork contrasts boyhood adventurism and eagerness to manhood discretion and caution; realizing that to achieve goals, sometimes he has to reach back into that boyhood phase for inspiration and drive. He also explores the arrival at adulthood, and the urge to leave the comfort zone of home and see the world on the upbeat acoustic rocker “Slow Me Down” and the ballad “The Train.” Pork contemplates his music career aspirations on “Sink or Swim” and the album-closing “Spinning Circles;” and voices concern about the changing world on “Change and Rearrange” and his read of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Can’t Take That Away.” A vision of the Hereafter is offered on the country blues-flavored “Heaven,” and personal responsibility and accountability are addressed on the ballad “Easy Way Out.” Pork McElhinny sings with a strong, clean, high-ranging voice, and convincingly conveys moods of happiness, wonder, concern and reflection throughout his performances. The album’s basic, stripped down arrangements place Pork constantly front and center. The Boy In The Man is a pleasant, thoughtful album where Pork McElhinny explores the transition between childhood hopefulness and adulthood reality. The resulting musical snapshot reveals his persona as containing elements of both. (To obtain this album, visit the website www.porkm.com.)

AND FINALLY…A TV MOVIE REVIEW!

CATEGORY 6: DAY OF DESTRUCTION

Okay, I confess…I’m a sucker for disaster and apocalypse movies. If I see a trailer for a movie showing destruction, annihilation, natural disasters and cataclysm, I’m hooked. So when I saw the advertisements for Category 6: Day of Destruction, CBS Television’s answer to Hollywood’s The Day After Tomorrow about meteorological phenomena run amok, I had to check it out. In the back of my mind, though, I sensed that since this was a television movie, it had the potential to be a real stinker.

I’m happy to say, it lived up to my expectations…mostly bad.

The premise of the 2-part, 4-hour movie was far-fetched at best: three extreme weather systems converge to decimate Chicago. A turbulent storm system that causes tornadoes to devastate Las Vegas (in the film’s opening moments), a severe arctic cold front that brings a snowstorm to Canada in August, and a severe warm weather system in the South all set sights on the Windy City, already in the grips of a lengthy 100-degree-plus heat wave. Eventually these converging weather systems produce multiple F-5 tornadoes that destroy the Golden Arch in St. Louis, and a Category 6 hurricane (Category 6, I kid you not) in Lake Michigan, churning its way southward towards Chicago. Yeah, right.

But that is not all. The film’s over-exuberant creators wanted to make a big message statement about Enron-styled corruption and abuse of the national power grid. They concoct a scenario where massive neglect of the nation’s power grid, coupled by a disgruntled power company employee-turned-computer hacker, manages to shut down Chicago’s power just prior to the forecasted megastorm hitting Chicago – so very few Chicagoans can actually be warned about this impending meteorological catastrophe.

Then we have the cast of characters – and predictable ones at that. We have Mitch Benson (Thomas Gibson), Midwest Electric operations chief who tries to keep Chicago’s power on, while battling between an insensitive corporate executive and an ambitious television reporter Amy Harkin (Nancy McKeon), and having an illicit affair with the power company’s mini-skirted publicist. Benson’s wife learns of the affair because her hubby and the publicist stand a little too close together during a television report (such perception!). Their teenage daughter gets into trouble by dating a gun-wielding thug. Other characters include Brian Dennehy as National Weather Administration chief meteorologist Andy Goodman, a cranky old cuss who observes all these weather phenomena coming together but is unable to warn Chicago because of the power problems; his associate, Tornado Tommy (Randy Quaid), a reckless redneck tornado chaser; and a young intern meteorologist who has more of a clue what is going on with the weather than any of the grizzled Weather Administration vets. There’s also a pregnant woman who gets trapped in an elevator just as she is going into labor – how convenient!

After being introduced to all of these shallow, clichéd characters, I did what any logical person watching this movie would do, outside of turning it off – I rooted for the tornadoes and hurricane to wipe everyone out! Anyway, the computer-generated tornadoes and hurricane hit, most of the evil people buy the farm (including the negligent corporate power mogul, the computer hacker and the gun-wielding boyfriend; Tornado Tommy eventually buys it, too), and Benson and his family weather the meteorological and marital storms. The pregnant lady has her healthy baby. Aside from Chicago being devastated, happy ending.

This movie had some serious plot flaws, which raised some questions…First, in the extremely unlikely scenario that a hurricane would ever form in Lake Michigan – let alone one with winds in excess of 165 miles per hour – would it not also affect Milwaukee and the rest of the Lake Michigan coast, especially given the size of that weather system? And provided such a superstorm would form and do a number on Chicago, wouldn’t it then move east or decimate others part of the country afterward, such as Cleveland or Pittsburgh? In the movie, the storm system apparently just disappears after it does its number on Chicago.

Also – if such a power outage were to occur with a huge storm bearing down on Chicago – why wouldn’t the police be out on the streets with megaphones to warn the citizens of the approaching storm, and leading in evacuations to shelters? Surely their megaphones and car batteries wouldn’t be affected by the power outage! Where were the emergency management folks? Surely a city the size of Chicago would have them!

Most of this movie was just plain stupid and illogical – such as our hero, Mitch Benson, driving his family and the pregnant lady through the streets of Chicago at the height of the storm, able to stay on the road despite every other vehicle being overturned by winds or crushed by falling debris! And the vehicle’s only casualty, other than some dents, a flat tire – which Benson and his son are able to change despite the storm’s fury howling around them!

I’ve seen some stupid TV movies in my time, but this one ranks up there among the worst. Totally unbelievable plot with more holes than a block of swiss cheese, clichéd story lines, bad acting, cheesy computer-generated special effects – all combined to turn this disaster movie into a plain-out disaster!
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