CDs recently listened to: The Salvation Army/Befour Three O' Clock. -- In the 80's there was an L.A.-area punk band called the Salvation Army. After some personnel changes, and threats of legal action by the philanthropic group of the same name, they morphed into the psychedelic revivalist band called the Three O' Clock. So, this CD captures them in their earlier, more raw incarnation. The tempos are all over the place, as often happens with young punk bands, but the songwriting by Michael Quercio is pretty tight. This record came out in the mid-80s; as extras, the CD includes earlier, even punkier versions of some of the songs, and a few unreleased items . . . these are mainly of historical interest. ------------------------------------------------------------------- The Hives, "Your New Favorite Band." The CD is a compilation of songs from the Hives' album "Veni Vidi Vicious" and some earlier songs, too. It's debatable as to how necessary this compilation is, but the bonus DVD is a real goldmine! You get videos of three songs, a documentary of their U.S. tour, and two whole concerts! One of these is at the Virgin Megastore in L.A., and the camera angles are so bad that it just makes everything seem all the more punk, which is great. The other concert was recorded for MTV2 and actually took place at the Recher Theater in Towson! (I love this venue and am sorry I missed this!) These guys really have the performance genes. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Jobriath, "Lonely Planet Boy." This is a compilation of tunes by the singer/songwriter who, for a brief time in the early 70's, assumed the persona of a space alien and thus served as an American answer to Bowie's Ziggy Stardust. This attempt to cash in on the glam movement, plus too much hype, plus mismanagement, plus the inability of rich executives to tolerate an openly gay artist, quickly derailed his career. Which is a shame, since, as this CD reveals, he was actually a more than competent songwriter and pianist. "Morning Star Ship" and "I'maman" are highlights for me. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brian Wilson Presents "Smile." Well, better 37 years late than never. There is much legend around the unfinished Beach Boys epic from 1967, and maybe someday I'll devote a special page just to an analysis of that. Suffice to say, "Smile" was to be the follow-up to "Pet Sounds" (which, for my money, could be the best album ever made). Anyone who heard the "Smile" tracks came away astonished. This album was being recorded in the manner of "Good Vibrations"; i.e., in a modular style. Also, various leitmotives were to recur during certain songs. But it didn't come out; mental illness, a bad relationship with the record company, and resistance from some Beach Boys caused Brian to scrap the project. However, a few of the completed tracks came out on later Beach Boys albums, and proved to be every bit as incredible as described. But in the past couple of years, a recovering Brian has had supportive people around him, and he, with the help of one of his current touring bandmates, finally finished the work. The true "Smile" will never exist; you can't simply record new tracks onto 37-year old tapes, and at any rate, Carl and Dennis are now both gone, and the other Boys aren't working with Brian. So Brian and his band totally re-recorded all the "Smile" tracks. So it's Brian's "Smile," not the Beach Boys'. For me, that's the one drawback. One of the things that made the original "Smile" sessions so charming is that you had the harmonies of the original Beach Boys singing these way-out songs. That's all gone; the harmonies supplied by Brian's current band just don't compare. But the good news is that Brian has finally been able to face this music, of which he'd been so scared all this time. Now all the world can hear legal versions of "Mrs. O' Leary's Cow," and "Child is the Father of the Man," and so on. This disc is a wild, mind-blowing musical ride from one of the true living geniuses. Still, I hope Capitol will do the right thing: release a set of CDs of the original unfinished "Smile" sessions, as they did with "Pet Sounds." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thoth, "The Herma: The Life and Land of Nular-in", Acts I-III. The best way to get these CDs is to meet the man in person, in Central Park where he prayforms (sic) nearly every day (weather permitting). This one-man band plays violin and, thanks to various shells and bells around his ankles, can accompany himself on percussion by stamping his feet. Sometimes he also employs a bullroarer and a Tibetan bell. He sings a "solopera" using words from a language he invented, about a similarly crafted world. At the drop of a hat, he switches between female and male parts. "The Herma" presents a complete mythology of his spiritual ancestry, and the music is at times primal, ecstatic, rhythmic . . . a kind of World Music for a previously unknown world. Taken at this level, there is much to enjoy. If you try to view it from a modern or European perspective, you will hate this. But if you ever see Thoth in person, you'll know that at least he is very good at what he does, and this is his life. Also recommended is the Oscar-winning documentary about him, "Thoth." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Hives, "Tyrannosaurus Hives." The clown princes of Sweden are back and have done it again! 12 songs, just under 30 minutes. As before, they still occasionally seem like hyperactives channeling the Stones and Kinks. They have also begun to add some synthesizer touches. "Walk, Idiot, Walk" is a clear standout, with its Devo-esque bass riff and relentless hook. "Abra Cadaver" and "See-Through Head" are also great (and over too soon). As you listen, you can almost see Howlin' Pelle Almqvist doing his Mick moves and the other guys banging away with their usual unbridled enthusiasm.